Code Total Drama Reality: Secrets of the Net
by Lord Maximus
Summary: Sent into the Web by his enemies Megabyte is left to degrade until he is rescued by an entity from a level of cyberspace no one has ever been to before. The being named XANA offers to help in his revenge and conquer the Net but when Megabyte agrees he unknowingly sparks a conflict that will not only decide the fate of the Net but also the User World itself.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything belonging to Code: Lyoko, Total Drama, or Reboot. Code Lyoko is Property of Moonscoop, Reboot is the property of Mainframe Entertainment and Total Drama is the property of Fresh TV.**

**Hope you all enjoy this Crossover Arc which is something I have been working since PEJP Bengtzone suggested a crossover with other shows like Reboot. I thought it over and started working on this, even though it took me a while to finally write it and launch it. Hope you all enjoy it as like Code Total Drama Reality I plan to make it epic. As you all know, Reboot was unfortunately cancelled before it was finished because the producers didn't think they had enough ratings so they left us with a massive cliffhanger. **

**I found that to be really annoying because it was a great show to watch when I was younger. I made a crossover with Reboot and Code Lyoko when several years ago when Reboot ended and after I watched the entire first season of Code Lyoko. Now things have changed and I plan to make this crossover even better and I hope that you all find it as great as you like Code: Total Drama Reality. The arc takes place before the Nephilim Arc but after the Shadow arc so Duncan and Courtney are still Lyoko Warriors and XANA has created Jinx, Blade and Sora but Nephilim and Seraphim have not arrived in Lyoko yet. In Reboot the story starts as Megabyte is sent into the Web in the episode Showdown and leads up to the events of Crouching Binome, Hidden Virus.**

**I also plan to show new characters in different systems other than Mainframe so if any of you has an idea for a character that is either a Virus, a Sprite, Guardian, and any other made up format that you decide would be good for this story feel free to send me a bio of your character.**

**Summary: Sent into the Web by his enemies Megabyte is left to degrade until he is rescued by an entity from a level of cyberspace no one has ever been to before. The being named XANA offers to help in his revenge and conquer the Net but when Megabyte agrees he unknowingly sparks a conflict that will not only decide the fate of the Net but also the User World itself.**

Xxx

**Reboot Time Measurements**

**1 Nanosecond = 1 Minute**

**1 Microsecond = 1 Hour**

**1 Second = 1 Day**

**1 Cycle = 1 Week**

**1 Minute = 1 Month**

**1 Hour = 1 Year**

Xxx

We have come to the Net

We have journeyed through systems, peoples, and cities

To this place: Mainframe

Our role: Lyoko Warriors

We fight to survive

We fight to save our friends, their hopes and dreams

To save all that we love

Xxx

Prologue

Aelita ran forward while Yumi, Ulrich, and Odd battled the Creepers behind her. Yumi blocked the lasers from all sides while Odd kept on ducking and firing laser arrows. Ulrich ran up close and slashed the Creepers apart with his digital saber. However for every Creeper they destroyed more came upon the bridge.

Aelita ran towards her lost memories where when she stopped, coming upon a gap in the path. Looking back she watched as her friends took out the Creepers only for another batch to come right at them.

"We better not hang around here."Yumi said as she took off for Aelita with Odd and Ulrich following close behind.

The Creepers fired at them, one hitting Odd in the back, causing him to tumble forward. Rolling on his hands and feet he looked to the others as they stopped.

"Go on!" He shouted, his hand shooing at them.

They turned and continued running while he turned back and faced the Creepers. He ran at them on all fours to take them out, but a Creeper shot him in the head, causing his body to change into a wireframe and vanish. Ulrich, Aelita, and Yumi watched with concerned looks as the Creepers slithered after them. They stepped back from the gap, Ulrich and Yumi on either side of Aelita grasping her arms.

They ran and jumped into the air over the gap. Yumi and Ulrich tossed her forward and she landed on the other side safely. She turned back and looked to see Ulrich holding onto the edge with one hand while holding Yumi with another. However he didn't have to hold her for long as a Creeper shot her and she vanished into a shower of pixels and wires.

The Creepers then fired on Ulrich but now that he didn't have to hold Yumi anymore he pulled out his sword and blocked the lasers.

"Jeremy, Yumi and Odd are down."

"_I know. Get Aelita's fragement._"

That was when Jeremy had more bad news.

"_The whole room is falling apart! Run for it!_"

Ulrich and Aelita watched in horror as the bridge began to fall apart.

"Uh no!" Ulrich shouted as they turned and ran.

Barely avoiding falling with platforms they were just on. However they're luck did not last. Aelita slipped and Ulrich stopped to pull her up when the platform fell and they fell with it. They screamed as they fell into the digital abyss below when they landed on something. Looking down they saw they were on Flying Mantas.

"Jeremy, it's getting worse."

"_Oh no it it's getting better._"

Ulrich did not understand what he meant by that.

"You're crazy! What's going on?"

"_It's Franz Hopper's who controlling the Mantas._"

The Manta Ulrich was on dropped him at the bottom of the stairs while the one Aelita was on flew her up to the top where her fragment resided. Stepping off the Manta, Aelita walked towards the shining ball of light that had a miniature version of herself. Reaching out, she grasped it in her hands, eagerly waiting to be free . . .

When it shattered.

That was when the entire chamber started to collapse. Ulrich looked up in horror as large falling blue blocks fell, crashing anything that was in their way. Including himself. Aelita looked around in horror as the blue blocks avoided hitting her but taking out anyway of escape. The path and the Mantas Franz Hopper controlled were crushed leaving her all alone.

"HELP ME!" She screamed with all of virtual lungs.

"_Aelita behind you!_"

Aelita turned and her eyes grew wide in horror as the monster known as the Scyphozoa hovered just behind her, reaching out with its tentacles to take all of her memories.

Xxx

"I don't believe it!" Jeremy exclaimed.

The entire group watched in horror. Ulrich came out of the elevator with a defeated look.

"There wasn't anything I could do."

The Scyphozoa had already captured her and began to drain her memories.

"NO!" Jeremy screamed.

That was when the Scyphozoa dropped her back on the floor, her eyes all wide but now lifeless. Her hand lifted for a second and then fell still and her eyes closed.

"Aelita's . .. .dead!" Jeremy cried, looking down at the floor with his hands on his face.

That was when the entire chamber began dark along the rest of Sector 5. The darkness engulfed the entire sector and one by one all the towers of Lyoko turned red.

"What's going on?" Yumi asked.

"XA-XANA got what he wanted. He has the Keys to Lyoko. He'll be able to get out of the supercomputer." Jeremy replied, crying.

At the same time, XANA shot a specter to the sky, creating a storm to signify his victory. In the dark chamber a shining sphere of light engulfed Aelita. That was when she began to see things before her father took her into Lyoko. Her eyes opened, her virtual soul slowly coming back to life.

That was when she devirtualized, leaving behind a reawakened Lyoko.

Xxx

XANA basked in his victory, watching the gate to the digital sea open. He flew through it and out of Lyoko.

Freedom.

He was free. He was invincible. Despite all the efforts of his enemies he had won. XANA surveyed the World Wide Network he was now in. What a strange and yet fascinating world it was.

An upside-down city that seemed to be endless.

How can he use it in a way to aid the conquest of the human world? Despite his victory there was still a lot of work to do. First he needed to study the new environment he was now in and see what could benefit him. Time to explore.

The black cloud that was XANA set out into the digital sea. Watching and observing the digital environment. After a considerable amount of time XANA came upon a large upside-down tower that was bigger than any of the other buildings that were part of the city. But that was not what caught XANA's attention.

It was the symbol on it.

The same symbol used by him in his work, meaning that his creator may have known about the city. Coming up to it XANA examined the wall, looking for any openings.

Forming a hand he reached out and touched the wall. That was when the wall reacted with a spike of energy, vibrating along the wall, like pulsations in Lyoko. Following these pulsations XANA came upon the symbol of Lyoko imprinted on what looked like the gate that led out of the hub of Lyoko. Reaching out to touch it the symbol glowed green the gate opened, allowing him access.

He went inside and found that there was a force field keeping the digital sea out.

'My creator obviously worked on more than just Lyoko and the destruction of Carthage. But why isn't it that I don't know of this? There are no records of this in the super calculator.' XANA thought as he chose a human form.

He chose a male version of Aelita but older, in the late teens or early twenties. His skin was pale; he shared Aelita's hair style but a bit longer and black with red streaks. Eyes shone bright red; the ears were pointed unlike a regular human's. He wore a black body suit with red outlines and boots under a short sleeved long black leather coat that was red on the inside and high colored.

Finally the Eye that was the symbol of Lyoko and his symbol appeared on his chest, over where the human heart would be. He created this form as his avatar a long time ago but never used it in battle, preferring not assume a human form unless he had to. After he was satisfied with his form XANA walked forward, taking in the appearance of the structure he was now in.

The hall he was now in was made of stone, no decorations what so ever. It was dark at first but then white and blue symbols glowed and laser grids came out. Knowing that his creator could design a security system that could delete him XANA maneuvered around them. Raising his hands they glowed red and he fired lasers back at them, destroying them one by one.

Once the last laser turret was destroyed XANA placed his hand on the wall and sent a stream of red electricity destroying anymore hidden security systems. With all obstacles destroyed he continued his exploration.

He stopped when he come upon a pair of large doors.

Not seeing any sort of lock on it XANA reached out with one hand and gently pushed the doors open. He walked in and found himself in a massive room. In the center was a large towering crystal like structure resembling the Lyoko Supercomputer. XANA walked over to it and placed his hand on the terminal.

Above the tower appeared a holographic map of the structure he was in. Looking back down he found several links. Each one showed a different symbol that he had never seen before. He pressed one of them; the symbol resembled was made of a circle that was black on the top half and white on the bottom and a diamond in the center that was also divided with inverted colors to the circle. When XANA touched the symbol the holographic map vanished.

That was when a ring of light appeared underneath XANA and traveled up his current form. XANA watched while keeping a close out for any sign of something that would attempt to delete him.

**Scanning**

**Access Denied**

**Multi-Agent Program Detected**

**Scan Complete**

**Designation: XANA**

XANA raised an eyebrow. So the security system recognized him.

"Interesting…let's take a look.**"** With a mere proverbial flick of the wrist, he bypassed the first layer of security. But he found himself boxed in moments later. It was like a wound healing mere moments after it was made. But he pressed on, deeper and deeper.

He came to the final set of security codes. He reached out, and was repelled. He pulled his hand back and looked at it, seeing slight burn marks on the skin that faded a second later. He reached out again, increasing the pressure of his attack. The wall separating him from the unknown location bent and began to rip, giving him glimpses as data flowed through.

It was all random access memory that he got, mere views of a digital realm that had a red, blue, and black colored environment with bright glowing storms made of data.

But then a moment later a powerful force gathered.

His eyes widened and he set up a defense before a blast of energy propelled him back down the hall, past healing layers of security systems. He slid as he landed, but stayed on his feet. He looked at the very outer ring of the sanctum he had discovered.

"It….repelled me? Like a pathetic little Trojan?" He stared at it for a second and smirked. "...Oh well…I have all the time in the world to find your secrets,"

Xxx

**Four Years Later**

**The Web**

Among the many habitants of the Web none were as numerous as the native Web Creatures. They had no other name and were extremely dangerous to any sprite or virus they come across. They were among the only creatures capable of anything in the Web. They could endure the data storms that were formed from the energy and data.

If a sprite or binome was to be exposed to the Web, he or she would slowly start degrading. Anyone lost in the Web or abducted by a creature will soon transform into a 'Degraded Sprite'. These beings can survive the Web and even use the Creatures that thrive like beasts of burden, but at a terrible cost. Their prolonged exposure to this hostile place gradually removes all physical evidence they ever were an inhabitant of the Net, until at last the person resembles a Web Creature themselves. Like nullification this process is irreversible with no known cure.

These people were known as the Web Riders. Former sprites that have long since lost their former identity and joined the Riders so that they would not be alone. They herd pods of Web Creatures for purposes unknown the people of the Net and the Riders have never bothered to explain. As usual a group of Web Riders were herding a pod of Web Creatures inside a data storm when they came upon a strange structure.

A large sphere with the center being a series of pillars and cross beams. Curious about the new structure they had found the Riders landed on the platform and walked inside. The hall was made of stone, nothing of significance seen as they walked on. They came upon a large door and forced it open. Forcing the doors opened they entered a massive room with pillars holding it up and in the center of it was a large tower with a crystal like terminal.

Curious the lead Rider walked over to the terminal and placed his hand on it. The crystal glowed brightly a strange icon appeared on it. It was made of two rings with a circle in the center, single column emerged from the top of the outer ring and three smaller columns emerged from the bottom following the ring's curve.

The lead Rider glanced back at his companions. They were examining other areas, their guns in hand. More were landing outside while other flew over the structure.

The Lead Rider let out a series of high pitched tones that translated into the language of the Web Riders. "_**This structure is not native to the Web.**_"

"_**Yet it is not entirely foreign either," **_A second rider stated. _"__**It is deformed from its existence in this world, obviously it has been here as long as we have, if not more.**__"_

"_**Corrupted, twisted,**__"_ A third rider added. _**"Like us."**_

"_**So we must figure out the purpose of this location," **_The Lead Rider proclaimed. _**"Have the rest of our flotilla land and set up camp. We have found safe ground...as safe as any ground in the chaos of the Web."**_

Soon dozens of Web Riders set down outside, tethering their Web Beats down and setting up a defendable camp on the structure.

"_**Sir, this console appears to be a command unit," **_A web rider said, gesturing for his leader to a glowing panel that let out an orange glow. _**"I cannot as of yet translate it yet."**_

"_**What of these other symbols here?" **_The Web Rider gestured to the ones circling the tower structure in the room.

"_**I am not certain, but I have discovered the universal icon used by those who dwell in the Net."**_ The Lieutenant replied.

"_**Then perhaps we have made a discovery at last worthy of keeping."**_ The Lead Rider suggested. _**"Keep looking through these and-"**_

One of the Web Riders examining the circular orange screen around the tower accidently brushed the tips of his fingers over the symbols...which began to mutate into what the Web Riders used in their hidden written coding.

"_**Sir! The symbols!"**_ The Web Rider cried. _**"They have changed! I recognize this alphabet, it is our own written language!"**_

"_**Impossible, there is no data storage containing our language."**_ The Lead Rider and his Lieutenant approached the younger Rider. _**"Few people in the Net even know of our existence. The most aware one would be from the region of Mainframe, the Guardian and the pirate crew he took with him, back to his home."**_

"_**Perhaps they constructed this?" **_The Lieutenant asked.

"_**Unlikely, the Guardian was not brought here by choice, he would not wish to return, nor keep his mind focused on our chaotic world."**_ The Lead Rider shook his head.

"_**I forgot also my own words...it has simply been here too long, the Guardian's departure was not long ago enough for this to have been sent here and degraded to this degree." **_The Lieutenant added.

"_**What does it say?" **_The Lead Rider asked.

The Lieutenant dragged his claw tipped fingers across the symbols. _**"...Lyoko...key...to...world...of...global...network?"**_

"_**Lyoko, the key to the world of the Global Network?**_" The senior Rider tilted his head in confusion.

"_**There is more sir...come..forward...and look upon the face...of...the user."**_

"_**The user...**_" The Lead Rider asked.

"_**The creator," **_The Lieutenant corrected him. _**"Those who live outside even the net. The user who made the net, the web...everything."**_

"_**A relic of the creators?"**_ The younger Rider stared at the tower. _**"Was this some sort of citadel for the first sprites?"**_

"_**Unlikely...it is not **_**that **_**old...but it is old...but our history predates it if I am correct." **_The Lieutenant shook his head. _**"There is more...yes...I have this sentence translated: To activate this system, use the Command Utility Panel above this translation matrix."**_

Almost immediately a red panel of light appeared, and on it were pitch black letters in Web rider text.

"_**Activate Tower..."**_ the Lead Rider whispered. _**"Do we want to?"**_

"_**Nothing ventured...nothing gained."**_ The Lieutenant whispered. _**"This could be our greatest discovery in both the Net and the Web."**_

"_**Very well...let us pray this is not a mistake."**_

And he tapped the Web Rider word '_**Yes'.**_

The panel vanished, and the tower began to glow with energy, as did the rest of the structure. The room began shake as a massive door with the strange icon from before appeared and opened to reveal a tunnel that was completely dark but with a light at the end of it.

"_**I do not recognize this." **_The Lieutenant said. _**"It does not seem to be a portal to the Net or the Web."**_

"_**Perhaps it leads to the User Realm." **_The Lead Rider said.

Xxx

What the Riders did not know was that they had opened something and someone would soon learn about it. To XANA, the World Wide Web was like water. Whenever there was a ripple in it, he-the biggest, cleverest predator in the area would detect it and home in on it if it looked promising. He knew almost everything that happened within the network he would know.

He came to know it well since he escaped Lyoko. Too bad it was the only level of cyber space he could access. Thanks to his creator who had such foresight. His thoughts on his devising latest attack were interrupted when something interrupted his thoughts. Something familiar . . .

"Lilith!"

A portal formed, and his top General, Lilith stepped out of it. She bowed at the waist. "You called for me, master?"

"Something has opened….something I tried not too long ago to bypass." XANA frowned as he stood up. "And I am ashamed to say, it is the only thing that has successfully defied my control."

"A program defeated you?" Lilith asked, concerned.

"Don't be blinded by pride Lilith. Even the strongest has someone to tower over them, and I was weaker back then." XANA chuckled. "Whatever it is was created by my creator, something that can keep a Multi-Agent program out. You on the other hand, are not restricted by this." He then formed a red sphere in one hand. "Use this program to look into the area beyond this opened door."

"It shall be done master." Lilith accepted the orb.

"Take the portal my General, and seek this mystery that has eluded me." XANA said as a portal formed.

Lilith stepped through.

Xxx

She appeared in the very hall XANA had stood in years ago, made of many lines of bright green binary digits; it no longer had multiple doors of security. It was like somebody had opened them all with a key.

And at the end, a bright light illuminated the already bright tunnel.

Lilith held up the sphere, and tossed it into the light. "There we go."

Xxx

"_**Look!"**_

In front of them materialized several figures. All of them were humanoid, and wore pitch black armor. When their dragon shaped helmets formed, a single Red Eye symbol appeared over the visors. Weapons consisting of guns or swords appeared in their hands.

The Riders held out guns, daggers, and short blades to defend themselves. Perceiving them as a threat the Dragon Knights charged at then. The Riders fired their guns but Knights shrugged off their fire and some fire back. A Rider was hit and burst into code, deleted before his comrades which enraged them to fight back even more fierce.

However they had little experience facing this type of foe and were quickly being pushed back with a few more Riders being deleted.

"_**Close the portal!" **_The leader shouted as it blocked a sword from a Dragon Knight.

He shot it in the head where the Eye was and it exploded into code. He ran over to the tower and looked over the instructions. The Riders were almost completely overwhelmed as more Dragon Knights appeared a few more Riders were deleted in the chaos. Looking over the instructions he found the switch to close the portal and pulled it.

The room began to shift again back to its original state and the Dragon Knights stopped pouring out of the tunnel. Several Knights and Riders were deleted when the walls and pillars slammed into them as the room continued to shift. Three Dragon Knights were left and continued to advance.

"_**Get out of here! They will most likely degrade!"**_ The Read Rider shouted.

The Riders nodded and began to retreat out where they came but a Dragon Knight grabbed the Leader by the neck.

"_**Leader!"**_ The Lieutenant turned and shouted.

"_**Go!"**_ The Leader rider shot the Knight in the head where the Eye was and it exploded.

The Lieutenant was forced to turn around as one of the last two Dragon Knights ran for him. He ran through the tunnel and hopped onto his creature and flew back. The Dragon Knight followed him out but the moment he stepped out he began to instantly degraded and faded away when he stepped out into the data storm. The last remaining Dragon Knight received confirmation of its comrade's death when it stepped outside.

Looking down it noticed its armor began to fade and knew that it was slowly degrading.

'This environment is not suitable for my creations.' The mind that was controlling the Dragon Knight thought and looked down the leader who was knocked out. 'Scans show this being has degraded to fit the environment of this place.'

Knowing that it's Dragon Knight would not survive for much longer in this place it came up with a plan to keep a link to this new dimension even though the portal was sealed now. It reached down and touched the Rider on the chest. The Dragon Knight faded into a cloud of black smoke and entered the Rider's body.

Slowly the Rider got up, looking carefully down at its body. The coding of this body was horribly corrupted and degraded; the source came from the environment the entity had come to know as the Web. The entity actually felt sorry for the host and its companions. To be reduced to this state would be a fate that even it would feel pity for.

He turned the creature's head to the tower. It would not let him open the gate on either side. He was lucky that he was able to slip something through and maintain a connection with it on the other side. He needed to find someone not infected by him to open it again.

Xxx

"Mainframe will always endure." Matrix said, standing over his fallen enemy with AndrAIa at his side as he held the trident at Megabyte's throat. "Remember this defeat. This humiliation. Remember you can never win."

Megabyte took the chance to slide off the roof of the ruined Principal Office and landed on an I-beam below. Looking up he glared up Matrix and AndrAIa standing over the edge looking down at him. "No! You remember boy!" He stood up while holding his wounded chest. "How I turned defeat into victory. How I left you with a dying system."

He activated his wrist device and converted the tear into a portal and diverted to the edge of the beam he was on. Dragging his injured left leg along to reach the edge he could almost see the Super Computer in all its glory. However what he did not know was that someone else had other plans.

"Oh no you don't!" Mouse said at the controls and changed the coordinates. Looking at Megabyte with her usual smile she pressed the command key. "One last double cross, sugar!"

Just as Megabyte reached out to touch the portal the golden spires of the Super Computer changed to the chaotic black and red tendrils of the Web. Megabyte eyes widened in horror as tentacles reached out and grabbed his hands. Another one wrapped around his neck and he was too tired to fight. What went wrong?

He had it in his grasp! Mainframe! The Net! All of the power that could have been his!

All of because of that Matrix boy who had refused to die and Mouse was most likely responsible for this. More tentacles came out and grabbed his arms and legs, not allowing him any chance to resist.

"NO!" He shouted as he was dragged into the Web.

As he was pulled on a sprite he had never seen before on a surfing board flew through portal into Mainframe. Megabyte could only watch as the portal closed leaving him trapped in the Web, the very place he had exiled Bob to, hoping the Guardian would be forever out of his way.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything belonging to Code: Lyoko, Total Drama, or Reboot. Code Lyoko is Property of Moonscoop, Reboot is the property of Mainframe Entertainment and Total Drama is the property of Fresh TV.**

Xxx

Chapter 1

As soon as he was pulled through the portal Megabyte saw his assailant. The Web Creature was several times his size with multiple tentacles coming out of its body. The creature's yellow eyes narrowed as they studied him, and it opened its mouth, revealing the sharp teeth as it prepared to devour him. Holding out his good arm he unsheathed his claws and slashed at one of tentacles, cutting it off completely.

The Web Creature screeched in pain as it loosened its hold on the virus that kept slashing, biting, and pinching at its tentacles until it flicked him away and fled. Megabyte found himself floating through the Web for a long time. After he escaped he took notice of the atmosphere of the Web, the environment of corrupted data that made up this digital hell. And he was here, trapped, alone, and seriously damaged.

One leg was out of its socket, his bad arm was broken along with the claws, and the open gash in abdomen was aching, even more so here in the Web. He could feel his body began to corrode slightly, remembering that viruses could not survive in the Web, and soon he would be nothing but a motionless mass of rock and metal. He knew that he was going to die here.

'Is this the end for me? To degrade slowly into nothing in this User forsaken place?' Megabyte thought he continued to float helplessly.

To be trapped here was even worse than being bound in an inferior system. Even if he could survive he had nothing here. The Web was chaotic, it was corrupted, it was a wasteland. Everything about the Web was the exact opposite of what he was.

His format was to bring complete order to the Net, to be the dominate force and seek out systems to bring absolute order and perfection. What would be the point of even trying to infect anything in this void of corrupted and degraded files? Looking down at the control panel he considered activating his self destruct to avoid the long pain of degradation. However when he opened it he found the control device had been smashed, most likely by the tentacles of the Web Creature that pulled him into this wretched place.

Looking up he saw in the distance some kind Rider on a Web Creature. As it floated towards him Megabyte managed to right himself, managing to float upwards and unsheathed his unbroken claws.

'Come, I'd rather be deleted in battle than wait for slow degradation!'

As it came close he waited for it to attack. Taking notice of the Rider he had never seen before he wondered why someone would chose to live in the Web.

'Perhaps he came here by accident. Another unwilling victim like Bob and myself.'

The Rider did not attack but stared at him curiously.

"Well, what are you waiting for?"

The Rider seemed to react and gestured his steed to fly forward. It flew at him and Megabyte pushed himself forward, using the zero gravity to his advantage as he aimed to sever the Rider's head from his body. However the Rider grabbed his arm and twisted it. Megabyte grunted in pain and tried to use his broken arm and its claws to try and free his hand but the Rider tossed him back and he flew off the steed.

Megabyte flew back with the Rider following him, looking down at the virus as it was curious. Megabyte prepared himself for another attack when the Rider raised his hand. That was when the unexpected happened. Tentacles made of a black oily substance came out and grabbed hold of him by the waist.

"What in the Net…"

Megabyte tried to sever it with his claws but it had no effect. He then turned to see the Rider motion his steed and it flew off with him still caught in the tentacles.

'This creature has something planned for me.' Megabyte thought.

He considered continuing to fight it until he was released but he already knew it was futile. Ironic when he thought he had won he said 'Resistance is futile'. And now he was in the same situation.

'I shall see what this thing has in store for me.'

He looked ahead to see it dragging him to a data storm. Such a powerful storm would degrade him until he was nothing but a pile of dust. That was when a red energy field appeared around him. They flew in and Megabyte noticed that it was protecting him now from the degrading effects of the Web.

He looked to see them come upon something in the middle of the storm. A large sphere floating in the eye of the storm.

The Rider maneuvered its ride to a platform and released Megabyte onto the floor. Parking the creature on the platform the Rider got off and walked into the entrance, vanishing into the darkness. Seeing nowhere else to go Megabyte followed, knowing that if he tried to leave the data storm would tear him apart. Looking around he saw the hall was nothing to gawk at.

Made of simple stone and went down one path. He stopped when he came upon a massive room with pillars holding it up and in the center of it was a large tower with a crystal like terminal. On the terminal was a strange icon that he had never seen before. It was made of two rings with a circle in the center, single column emerged from the top of the outer ring and three smaller columns emerged from the bottom following the ring's curve.

On the other side of the room was a door with the same icon on the terminal. Curiously Megabyte limped over to the tower and looked it over. He could not read the symbols since he did not understand language.

"Meaningless gibberish." He muttered as he looked at the terminal.

That was when a ring of light appeared under him catching him by surprise. He looked down to see the ring travel up his body. When it finished it vanished leaving Megabyte to ponder what it was.

"Scan complete." A voice said out of nowhere and seemingly everywhere, sounding cold and without emotion.

Megabyte looked around, startled by the voice. "Who's there?"

An interface appeared in front of him and showed him the results of the scan.

**Program: Virus  
Designation: Megabyte  
Type: Class Three File Infector  
Previous Designation: Kilobyte  
Type: Class Two File Infector  
Upgraded Designation: Gigabyte  
Type: Class Five Super Virus  
Sister Virus Designation: Hexadecimal  
Type: Class Four Super Virus**

"Show yourself." Megabyte continued to look around. "Enough hiding!"

"That would be a little difficult, virus, as I am unable to appear before you. Will this body do?" The voice replied and the Web Rider who brought him appeared out from behind the tower.

Megabyte glared at the Rider and unsheathed his unbroken claws.

"That would be an unwise course of action on your part, virus." The voice said, amused.

"Perhaps but if you think I will go along with whatever scheme you have for me you might as well delete me. I am no one's servant or pawn."

"In your condition?"

"I would rather be deleted in battle than wait to be degraded by this wretched place." Megabyte prepared to fight even though he was so tired, weak, and still damaged he would never admit defeat.

The being chuckled at Megabyte's attitude.

"And if I offer you a way to survive?"

Megabyte narrowed his eyes.

"Why did you bring me here?"

The Rider pointed to the tower. "I need someone to unlock the gate for me. This body is unable to be of any use to me since I infected it and the hub is designed to keep me out. I slipped something through and this Rider was perfect as a temporary host."

Megabyte began to understand the nature of his new companion. The Rider in front of him was being controlled by a signal from a far away source not unlike that of a virus. He chuckled. "And this is why I'm here. To release you from whatever prison you are in? You still have yet to explain how any of this benefits _me_. Doing this absolutely gives me nothing I desire."

"And what is it you desire?"

"There is an old saying; you should never trust someone who refuses to share his format."

"My format is none of your concern but if you are wishing to know who has saved you then very well. My designation is XANA. As for you refusing what you have got to lose?"

"Given that you are controlling this . . . thing, I must assume you are a virus like me and there is rarely honor among viruses."

"And who says I am a virus? I am something much more. Why not even a thousand viruses would be able to defeat me."

Megabyte smirked, amused by the pride this being had. "A bold claim. However for all your so called power, all your pride, you cannot do anything without my assistance. I have no reason to assist you; you offer nothing to offer me in reaching my goal, nothing to assist me in escaping this infernal place, nothing to offer me in... Revenge.

"So you wouldn't be interest in helping me if I told you of your changed coding?"

Megabyte was caught off guard by that. "What?"

"My scan shows that your code has a stream of data that is consisted with a Guardian program, registration Four-Five-Two."

'Bob? His code is in me?' Megabyte thought in shock and disgust.

He thought over how he could have somehow gained Bob's code. His eyes widened when he remembered that one second, when he finally was rid of Bob. He caught him by surprise during the war against the Web and threw him into a missile. He crushed Bob's Key Tool before he had done so.

"Judging by the look on your face you know whose code you have and how it happened." XANA said, now amused. "What do you plan to do now, knowing that the Guardian Code will keep you from degrading in this place? Do you still want revenge?"

Megabyte was stunned by the revelation, and then faced the possessed Rider. "Revenge cannot even come close to accurately describing what I want to do to them. For banishing me here, I want to break them, take everything they cherish away and burn it to the ground."

XANA chuckled. "I can assist you with that. Is that reason enough to assist me?"

"I don't align myself with anybody," Megabyte said sternly.

"I could leave you to rot until you go mad." XANA offered.

…this obviously made Megabyte reconsider.

"You desire revenge, you are able to survive but unable to return to where you were before you were banished here, and you are horribly damaged. As you are you cannot hope to leave this place. Even if you refuse to align yourself with me would you be open to the idea of a …trade?" XANA tilted the Rider's head.

Megabyte paused to consider this. He had very little choice in this but if it meant finding a way out of the Web he might as well go along with it for now.

"Very well." Megabyte grudgingly agreed.

"Good. Just walk to the tower and activate the open mechanism." XANA pointed to the tower console.

Megabyte limped over to the console and looked it over. The red panel appeared before right in front of him. Reaching out slowly he touched it and watched the room began to shit and the door with the Eye of XANA began to open.

"Walk through the door and you will be healed." XANA instructed.

Megabyte walked into the tunnel that had been opened, narrowing his eyes as he tried to see through the darkness of the tunnel.

"Congratulations, here's your prize." A female voice whispered.

Megabyte didn't have the chance to react as he fell through a portal.

Xxx

Megabyte opened his eyes to find himself in a place totally different from the Web. He looked around, finding himself in some kind of tank, strapped to a table.

"Awake are we?" A female voice asked.

Looking ahead he saw a young teenaged sprite with long red hair in a pony tail, pale skin but not as pale as Hexadecimal's, blue eyes, and she was dressed commonly in black.

"Who are you?" Megabyte asked, struggling against the steel bands that held him.

"Your healer. You have been brought to the reconstruction chamber so we can heal you. I am Lilith." The girl introduced herself.

Megabyte had no idea where he was or even if this was a dream or nightmare he would never awake from.

"You better not struggle and let me work. We need you alive for now so just let the energy do its work. And don't worry, I won't let you drown." Lilith said as she pushed a button.

That was when liquid energy began to fill the tank.

"What is this?" Megabyte demanded, wary of accepting help from sprites unless they were under his control.

"Your bath," Lilith replied curtly. "Now with respect Mr. Megabyte, shut the _Dell_ up and enjoy it."

The liquid enveloped Megabyte. Being a virus, and naturally more suitable to hostile environments than a sprite he didn't have to struggle to hold his breath as something began to change. The liquid began to glow bright red as it repaired him…and added some new components, replaced some more. Megabyte could feel his wounds being healed; the pain was fading fast and felt something else.

His strength was returning but he felt so much stronger. He could not remember ever having such a feeling.

"Hm…." Lilith looked over the tank for several minutes. "Ah ha! Perfect!" She emptied the tank with another push of a button. "You're beautiful!"

Beautiful was not the word to describe a virus like Megabyte, especially in his condition. The restraints broke, allowing him to fall to the floor as the last of the liquid was drained out of the tank. He could now move and walk…and everything seemed much easier now. He looked at the reflective floor of the tank…and couldn't help but smirk.

It was as though after fixing him, they had taken every menacing feature and enhanced it. His smooth dark armored skin was now rough; his claws had fully grown into his knuckles and were bigger, as were the red ridges on his head. He had cables coming out of his chest area and the back of his head, and his upper body was noticeably larger than before. His green lips were gone, showing his razor sharp teeth.

All in all, it was like a brand new version of him hopped up on the computer virus version of steroids. He chuckled, taking pride in how he looked as Lilith opened the tank.

"Now are you happy about feeling better?" Lilith asked with her hands behind her back and tilting her head like a curious little sprite. "Just so you know XANA wants to see you when you're healed. Better not keep him waiting."

Megabyte looked up and followed Lilith out of the chamber and through a blue hall with nothing on the floor or wall. They stopped at a door with the Eye of XANA on it. Lilith skipped up and knocked on the door.

"Master XANA!" She said sing song like tone. "Our new friend is awake and feeling better."

The door opened as Lilith stepped back. She looked over her shoulder at Megabyte.

"Be polite to him, you know. He did go through all the trouble to fix you up."

Megabyte ignored the bothersome sprite and stepped through the doors. The room beyond was large, circular, and only had red lights coming off of the multiple symbols and images floating across the walls as illumination. The floor had a massive XANA eye on it. Megabyte walked into the room, looking at the interfaces to see what they represented.

"Ah, welcome back Megabyte. Pardon the silence, I was…at work."

Megabyte turned to face another sprite that had stopped a few feet from him. This one was different from Lilith. This one was male, taller than Lilith, dark hair with blood red streaks, skin about as pale as Hexadecimal's, dark clothing, and the strange eye icon on his chest. He smiled politely at the virus with bright glinting red eyes.

"It is nice that we are able to speak now, face to face." XANA said.

"Indeed." Megabyte replied, looking down at the sprite. "You're not what I was expecting to see."

XANA's smirk widened slightly. "And what did you expect?"

"Frankly, when someone believes themselves to be above viruses, guardians, or any other known format I expect them to look . . . taller." Megabyte chuckled.

"Last I checked from your memories you spent half of your time on a floating chair with your legs removed, so you're one to talk." XANA replied.

"You can see my _memories?_" Megabyte scowled.

"I was curious. It was a little something I picked up during my scans. Don't you remember that little 'read me' file? Your name is Megabyte; you have a sister named Hexadecimal. Your 'parent' is Gigabyte, and his parent is 'Kilobyte'. Both you and your sister were born when Gigabyte split into two different forms. You inherited his strength, cunning, and his calculating thought process while Hexadecimal inherited his transfinite energy reserves. You wished to control and dominate, Hexadecimal wished to have fun and enjoy herself, but you both treat the sprites below you like chess pieces…" XANA smirked. "And that is why I just know you and I can get along."

"I'm listening," Megabyte crossed his arms.

"When you were rejuvenated, I took the time to look over your code, it seems your time in the Web gave you some…'extra' coding, and a little something from a Guardian's Keytool," XANA explained. "I think you'll like that one the best."

A mirror formed in front of Megabyte.

"Now...picture that Guardian in your mind...every feature….his skin, hair, uniform, his eyes, even his voice." XANA said.

"What are you trying to prove?" Megabyte asked impatiently.

"Humor me," XANA said. "As some sprites I know of like to say anyways."

Megabyte closed his eyes and pictured that wretched Guardian who had practically stalked him across systems from the Super Computer as Gigabyte to Mainframe as Megabyte. He opened his eyes….

And smashed the mirror with an enraged snarl as he saw that cursed Guardian standing in it. The mirror reformed, and Bob was still there. Megabyte's eyes widened. "What is this?" Bob mimicked his words.

"Look at yourself," XANA said.

Megabyte looked down and saw the blue uniform Bob used to wear. He felt hair on his head, and his skin was a light blue. He had everything except for the Key Tool 'Glitch' itself.

"What have you done?" Megabyte snarled.

"Not me, you," XANA said, amused. "If you want to look normal, then just make it so."

Megabyte's wish to be his normal self happened quickly. He stood in his viral glory. He glared at XANA. "Explain."

"When Lilith treated you, the Web coding mutated your body, transforming your code. The energy in the reconstruction chamber was designed to remove any useless coding and improve on anything useful as well as add an upgrade." XANA said. "You are now a Trojan Horse virus…but a thousand times more advanced. And with the Guardian's coding, you can assume his form. All you need to do is touch whoever you wish, and you can take their form, their most recent memories, voice…and even weapons. And a further scan showed some more promise in you, I suspect you'll only need me and my Generals to point you in the right direction and provide some numbers before you take over Mainframe, then the Super Computer…then the whole Net."

"The net…" Megabyte's mouth curled into a smile that looked anything but innocent. "…I'm listening."

"My creatures are incapable of travelling through the Web, which is all I can reach at this point," XANA explained. "But if I were to find somebody who could recruit more like you, more…viruses who are looking to stake their claim. In return for helping me, I will give you an army to bring forth your Viral Dawn, and I will…well your taking over the net will make my own interests much easier to achieve, and I have little interest in ruling the Net. I have a bigger goal in mind."

"What can be bigger than all of existence?" Megabyte asked.

"There are still secrets I like to keep," XANA chucked. "I can only help you if you agree…partner?" He offered a hand.

Megabyte looked at what was obviously not some sprite. It was no virus by nature, but it had the makings of one…

His clawed hand grasped the tiny delicate looking hand. XANA did not even flinch as they both squeezed each other's hand and shook on it. "Partner."


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything belonging to Code: Lyoko, Total Drama, or Reboot. Code Lyoko is Property of Moonscoop, Reboot is the property of Mainframe Entertainment and Total Drama is the property of Fresh TV.**

Xxx

Chapter 2

"And tune in next time for another episode of Total, Drama, REALITY!" Chris said.

He ducked as a meatball flew over his head and hit the camera.

"Finally!" Heather shouted, stepping from the spaghetti covered table. "I can't believe he made us go through _that_ and there wasn't even an elimination ceremony!"

"I don't know, Heather. I think that's a good look for you." Courtney snickered.

"Bite me Miss B.I.T-"Heather started but Bridgette put a hand on her mouth.

"Heather! We're still on the air!" She pointed at the camera with the red light flashing.

"Then have Chris shut off the camera! Or I'll stick meatballs into his hair!" Heather said, pulling a meatball out of her hair.

"All right, all right!" Chris said and the red light went off. "Can someone clean up this mess?"

He was referring to the tomato sauce on the floor which was the result of the most recent challenge which left everyone covered in various food.

"Good job, Chris, you turned another good show into a repeat of the disaster of a cooking show you hosted." Carlos commented.

"It wasn't my fault! They did it!" Chris pointed at the teens.

"Yeah it's our fault for getting covered in spaghetti, meat balls, and tomato sauce." Gwen said sarcastically.

Her hair was messy and stained with tomato sauce giving it a mixture of black, red, and blue colors with a few meatballs while her clothes had tomato sauce on them as well.

Xxx

Everyone ended up washing in the studio showers while having to wash their clothes with the washing machines to get all the sticky and messy food off.

"That was by far one of the messiest challenges I've even been in." Trent said.

"Oh yeah? What about the brunch of disgustingness?" Cody asked.

"That was the most disgusting challenge. At least we avoided vomiting on our clothes." Trent replied.

"You weren't around for the most disgusting challenges." Gwen put her pile of now clean clothes in the basket.

"What was worse than that?" Geoff asked.

"Drinking from the confessional toilet during the Triple Dog Dare You challenge." Gwen glared a bit Geoff. "I think that was _your_ dare."

Geoff rubbed the back of his head and blushed in embarrassment. He made that dare for Heather when Chris asked them to come up with all sorts of dares for the remaining contestants of Season 1 who happened to be Gwen, Heather, and Owen. Unfortunately instead of Heather Gwen ended up doing that dare. That was probably the most disgusting of the dares in that challenge and Gwen would no doubt know all about that.

"What about me? I had to lick Owen's armpit and I got my head shaved!" Heather pointed at her hair which was now the same length as Noah's hair. "I had to go through a whole season being bald."

"At least you didn't mauled by a bear. That one hurt." Cody said.

"Yeah well the pain of the entire world seeing my head bald was traumatizing. No one should have to go through that." Heather picked up her clean clothes.

"For once I actually agree with Heather." Bridgette said.

"Thank you!"

Xxx

Turbo sighed as a Vid-Window appeared with another set of files he needed to sort and sign. Being Prime Guardian rarely left him with time to not stamp his signature on everything and simply enjoy the second, especially with the clear sky. Before he would often sneak out and enjoy a game or two but since of the end of war with Daemon he rarely had any time now since the Net was so busy rebuilding. Just as he finished another stamp another Vid-Window appeared with his secretary on it.

"Turbo, sir, we have a call from Mainframe." She said, adjusting her glasses.

"I guess there were some wedding issues?" Turbo sighed.

When the Bob that was brought in had healed from somehow surviving an exploding portal he flew like a jet back to Mainframe when he heard Dot and the other Bob were getting married.

"No sir. The Guardian Bob says they have a virus situation." His secretary replied.

Turbo put down the files he was looking at earlier when he heard that. "Patch him through."

The secretary nodded and her image was replaced by Bob's. The original he hoped as he still looked like the one before Bob was shot into the Web.

"Bob, or are you Glitch Bob?" Turbo asked.

"I'm Glitch Bob, but now we all know I am the real one. The other one was a fake, a Trojan Horse Virus."

Turbo was even more alert when he heard that. Trojan Horse Viruses were rare but they were extremely dangerous.

"How did a Trojan Horse Virus copy your form?"

"It was Megabyte. He was the real identity of the other me." Bob replied.

"Megabyte? How is that possible?"

"Here, I'll show you."

Bob then sent over a second Vid-Window of the wedding. He watched as Dot was dressed in a beautiful gown and Bob in his Guardian Uniform. Then Bob in his Web degraded uniform appeared which led to confusion and an argument. Dot stopped them and begged the degraded Bob to let it go. Even though he was clearly hurt the degraded Bob respected her wishes.

Then Glitch dejected from him and attached the formal Bob. The formal Bob had a smug look but then it turned to pain as Glitch preformed a code download and then jumped back to the other Bob and then preformed a code upload. The degraded Bob then returned to his original appearance and the other one reverted into . . . Megabyte.

There was a fight and then Megabyte hid from the group and grabbed a binome, Specky. What he didn't know was a camera was filming it as Megabyte transformed into an exact copy of the binome. Turbo was amazed and shocked.

"So it's confirmed. Megabyte has Trojan Horse viral capacity now."

"He can duplicate any form. He could be anyone, right in front us, and we'd never know."

Turbo thought things over as he registered this. The longer Megabyte was on the loose the easier it would be for him to blend in. "I'm sending a viral insulate team right now. They'll be there in nanoseconds."

"No." Bob said which got him surprised looks from everyone.

"What?" Matrix said, very surprised.

"No. Keep your executioners away where they are. We'll deal with this ourselves."

Turbo sighed. "So now you want to save Megabyte. Still clinging to your radical theories, Bob."

"Look, Turbo, I don't care what you think of my theories anymore. If we had done it your way, if we deleted Hexadecimal the moment she got here the entire net would have been destroyed by Daemon."

Turbo was silent when Bob said that. He had a good point on that.

"The read me of a fate is a complex program indeed." Phong spoke.

"We'll call for your help if we need it." Bob said and the window closed.

Turbo was silent as he thought it over. He then brought up a vid-window of his secretary. "Miss Apple, contact and tell Guardian 543 to meet me immediately."

"Yes sir." The secretary replied and the window vanished.

A couple Nanoseconds later and the door to Turbo's office opened up. He had turquoise colored skin and sandy blond colored hair with brown eyes. He wore the standard Guardian uniform and Guardian icon was seen in the usual spot.

"You wanted to see me sir?" He asked.

"Ah, Tom. Yes, we have a situation growing in Mainframe." Turbo replied as Tom sat down. "Viral Infiltration."

"Aren't Mainframe situations usually handled by Bob?" Tom asked.

"Normally yes but we might have an even bigger situation. What do you know of the virus Megabyte?" Turbo asked.

"A class three File Infector, he's an alternate form of Kilobyte that was created when Kilobyte upgraded to Gigabyte and was split into two new viruses following the incident that destroyed Mainframe's twin city. Last I heard he was reported pulled into the Web where he would degrade into nothing."

"That's about the gist of it only now we have a report that he's back in Mainframe." Turbo said.

Tom raised an eyebrow. "A virus was able to survive the web?"

"Not only survive the web but he came back with new more powerful abilities. From Bob's report Megabyte has gained Trojan Horse viral capabilities."

"Trojan Horse abilities? That's bad!"

"Very bad." Turbo nodded.

"So is that why I'm here? Am I to lead a containment team to capture him?" Tom asked.

"No. Bob assures me that they can handle the situation."

"Bob still clinging to those random theories he liked to spout?" Tom raised an eyebrow. "No offense to him, sir, but he may be a good Guardian these theories make him sound like a viral sympathizer instead of a real Guardian, especially since this is Megabyte we're talking about."

"I agree but Bob raised the subject on the fact that if it wasn't for Hexadecimal the entire net would have been destroyed by Daemon."

"Still, Bob may have got one virus to help but Megabyte is another story."

"I know which is why against my judgment that I allowed Bob and the others to handle things but there are still questions that need to be answered. Like how Megabyte was able to gain such powers in a place like the Web." Turbo said.

"That's where I come in, isn't it?" Tom asked.

"I'm assigning you an experimental exploration ship designed for traveling the Web. Your mission should you choose to accept is track down and locate the source of Megabyte's upgrade." Turbo said. "Even if Megabyte was protected from being degraded completely he shouldn't have been able to upgrade to the level he's at now."

"You suspect someone or something had a hand in it?" Tom guessed.

"Exactly. The Web is off limits because of how dangerous it is but we have built experimental craft and protection suits recently. Do you accept this mission?" Turbo asked.

"Yes sir." Tom gave him a salute.

"Good. They're waiting for you at the docks. Suit up and be careful." Turbo handed Tom all of the necessary data he would need.

Xxx

"Oh great." Noah mumbled as he sighed.

He was sitting at the bleachers while everyone decided to entertain themselves with a game of dodge ball. Gwen, Heather, Courtney, and Cody were on one team while LeShawna, Duncan, Geoff and Bridgette were on the other. DJ was the referee while Trent was sitting on the bleachers next to Noah.

"What is it now?"

"Just tweaking away at the XANA Detection System Aelita was working on." Noah replied.

"How'd it go?" Trent asked.

"Seventy percent accuracy." Noah rubbed his eyes.

"I assume that means epic fail." Trent said.

"It's not as easy as you think. It's not like I can type XANA's address on it and expect it to take us to the Carbon Copy. There are literally thousands of programs hiding it and the manifestation of the internet through Lyoko is in a constant state of movement."

"You know, Noah, I don't pretend to know half of this stuff but … LOOK OUT!"

Trent jumped and stopped a ball that was about to hit Noah.

"Thanks!" Noah said, not at all reacting to the fact that he was almost hit in the face.

"You're welcome. We all have our talents." Trent said.

Xxx

Megabyte stood, a small but proud smirk on his face with his most recently infected minions, reveling that in just one full second that he had been back he already mounted a flawless capture of the Principal Office. He reveled in the new powers he had been given through his travels through the Web and to XANA's domain. Floating in the Web for what seemed like hours he learned what his new powers were and then when the time was right he was sent back. XANA had discovered from the memories of the Web Riders that Bob had met another group shortly after he was sent into the Web.

He was later found by a gang of software pirates along with that wretched sprite Matrix, his pet, his game sprite, and a web surfer. Knowing that he could not help Megabyte since his creator's security program kept him out and his monsters would degrade in the web XANA informed Megabyte that in order to reach Mainframe he would need to find the same group of riders that had found Bob. It wasn't hard once Megabyte returned to the Web after he had finished practicing his new powers. Soon enough he found the web surfer XANA spoke of.

It was quite easy, lying to him, acting confused, playing the act of the lost but restored Guardian. All he had to ask what was going on and the Surfer spilled his code to him. He shocked Megabyte when he told him that another virus, a super virus, had not only managed to infiltrate the Super Computer, but infected it along with the entire Guardian Collective, and nearly the entire Net! Megabyte had to fight hard to quell the anger inside of him.

Another virus took over _his_ domain! He was the one who was supposed to rule the Supercomputer and bring all the systems under his control! That didn't matter now and the web surfer was a wealth of information. He then explained that he had come to Web to hide from Daemon since as her infection grew she was looking for someone who could form portals and reach the systems she had been unable to infect with the Guardians.

That was when Megabyte played his role perfectly after practicing. He told Ray Tracer that he came back into the Web to hide from Daemon's infection. When Ray asked him about his appearance and Megabyte said he was able to restore his normal appearance after he returned home. Once the surfer bought his story the surfer agreed to help the disguised virus return to Mainframe.

He came just in time to hear Dot propose to Bob.

Once he made it back he found it was _so_ easy to gain their trust. He managed to work his way into their lives and they were so eager accept him. It was even better that he learned his sister; Hexadecimal sacrificed herself to save the Net from Daemon. Pity, he wanted to be the one who deleted her.

Bob was increasingly becoming agitated with him as everyone thought he was the fake Bob. Then there was the accident, Bob tried to separate himself from Glitch and was horribly injured. They took him to the Supercomputer to try and treat him. Megabyte knew that Bob was uneasy but to take it this far was a bonus.

Then Dot, actually _proposed_ to the fake Bob while the real one was dying. Megabyte fought so hard to not laugh at this. They all turned their backs on the real Bob so easily! The wedding would have been the ultimate way to break them until that meddlesome Key Tool revealed which one was real and which one was fake.

Oh, well. He had all he needed to gain his revenge. He tricked them into thinking he still wanted to get to the Supercomputer. Such fools. He could have gotten to the Supercomputer easily by infecting the Web Surfer but this was not about reviving Megaframe or ruling.

This was personal. He was going to break them, tear them apart, fill them with despair and delete them slowly! He left an alias to be captured when he captured the fake gateway command, knowing that they would have come up with a plan knowing that he would go for something that would take him to the Supercomputer. It was just too easy. During the fight he managed to take Frisket's form and leave the mangy beast somewhere to rot while the fight continued.

He hid in the war room, just waiting for Bob and Matrix to find his little 'surprise'. And when it did, all Dell broke loose.

"Dot, we don't have Megabyte! It was an alias!" Bob said over the Vid-Window. "He must be in the war room with you. One of you is Megabyte, do you understand? He's tricked us! Get out of there now!"

Everyone was frozen in mid-panic with expressions of disbelief. That was when Megabyte chose to reveal himself. Feeling a surge of pride as he changed back into his true form and stood proudly. CPU officers screamed as they ran for the doors but Megabyte stretched out his hand and shot forth several cables and turned them into mindless, apathetic virals.

Everyone was making a run for it, too disorganized to fight.

"Enzo!" Dot cried as Hack and Slash seized her by the arms and pulled her out in the corridor with the door closing behind them.

Mouse drew her katana as Megabyte shot several cables at her. She hacked them to pieces and Megabyte recoiled them, growling in pain as he glared at the hacker who had sent him into the Web. While that happened AndrAIa grabbed the hacker by the elbow and attempted to pull her out of the war room. Megabyte sent another stream of cables but to his shock and to his disappointment Phong jumped in the way and fell to the ground with coils embedded in his body and his skin turned gray.

Mouse and AndrAIa escaped and Welman Matrix almost made it out with his son. Megabyte shot out his cables as they ran into Dot's office and the door began to close. They stopped the doors from closing and reached in and infected Welman's robot body. It turned navy blue and the null inside was powerless to do anything.

He grabbed the boy and dragged him out as Megabyte shot his cables out to huge console in front of the war room. He easily infected the last few binomes as he stood at the main console. He was now in complete control like he had wanted for so long. But this time there was a small difference.

Pressing a button he watched as the Vid-Windows came online showing the entire city he had once tried to conquer and rule before. He made sure his voice would be heard throughout Mainframe and the Principal Office.

"Attention. As you are no doubt aware, I am now in complete control of the Principal Office. You're probably looking forward to one of my erudite speeches about me, Megaframe, the new viral dawn et cetera, et cetera." He waved his hand airily. "But I'm afraid I'm going to have to disappoint you. There is no grand scheme here. This is about _revenge_. Viruses are predatory by design and it is time to follow my function. Prepare yourselves . . . For the _hunt_."

He switched off the intercom and turned to face young Enzo who was being held by his infected dad.

"Well, boy, it seems things are working out so nicely. I believe it is . . . What's the phrase? Ah, alphanumeric."

"You'll never get away with this, Megabreath!" Enzo shouted.

Megabyte walked over to him, knowing that Enzo was scared of him but tried to put on a brave front.

"Still defiant as ever, boy? Your older version proved to be a nuisance to me at best." He reached out and took hold of Enzo's icon. "As you are right now there wouldn't be any point in wasting my time infecting you but that doesn't mean you are completely useless…"

"You'll never win! Bob and Dot will kick your ascii back to the Web!" Enzo shouted. "They'll bust in here and rescue me and-"

"Don't make me laugh, boy. Those two? After everything that has happened? I must say I never thought your sister would be so heartless, so eagerly waiting to married to the so called love of her life while the real one lying on a table in coma." Megabyte laughed. "I must say, I was impressed by how quickly you all turned on him, accepting me so easily. Too bad Bob had to ruin the wedding; I was saving the surprise for the honeymoon."

"Don't you dare talk about my sister!" Enzo shouted.

Megabyte laughed. "Yes, yes, go ahead and shout your little witless comments. I look forward to hearing them as you watch your friends and family deleted one by one." He leaned down until he was level with Enzo's face. "Before you share their fate."

"You won't win, they stopped you before and they'll do it again."Enzo replied dejected.

Megabyte chuckled. "That's the past and its best you learn from it so you can never repeat it."

"Especially since you failed! And you remember what we told you when we thought you were Bob? How Daemon took control of the Supercomputer? Something you could never do!" Enzo huffed. "She infected everyone in Mainframe, except for me. That's right! I, Little Enzo saved everyone! Just like how I sent you into the Web!"

"Ah, but that's where _you_ failed. Or should I say the real you since you're nothing but an outdated copy." Megabyte lowered his face until it was mere inches from Enzo's.

"I am not outdated!" Enzo yelled.

He stopped struggling against the Null Bot.

Megabyte laughed. "On the contrary, boy. You are outdated. An incomplete backup. The real Enzo that became Matrix was one one while you are zero one. Do you know what means? You don't even have all of little Enzo in you. A great deal is missing. You're not even good enough to be a copy.

"Shut up!" Enzo shouted, wishing he could block his ears.

"And even then, that so called renegade should have finished me off when he had the chance. But I guess weakness just runs in the family." Megabyte backed away, enjoying the hidden hurt look on the child's face. "You might as well be a null so it doesn't really matter what you say or think. And soon your dear sister will break along with everyone around her. This isn't about power. I won't rest until I have brought the complete and total devastation of everyone and everything here."

"You won't get away with this." Enzo muttered. "You won't win."

A small groan interrupted their conversation and they turned to see Phong attempt to move.

"Ah, Phong." Megabyte said as he as he walked over and grabbed the old sprite by the neck and lifted him into the air. "Seems just last second that we met just like this. Do you remember?"

"Leave him alone!" Enzo cried.

Phong weakly glared at him and said quietly. "I told you before; I will fight you to the last, virus."

Megabyte tossed him aside and he hit the wall.

"Guard him." He said to an infected binome before turning to another. "Has the defense system near cell block been activated?"

"Yes sir."

" Good. I have reinforcements in the prison block. They have already been released remotely from here; you will lead them to the armory."

Xxx

Bob and Matrix stood in stunned silence after Megabyte's speech. Bob tried to keep himself calm knowing that getting angry would not help them win.

"No good rotten virus!" Matrix pounded the wall and pulled out his gun.

Bob knowing what he was thinking put his hand on the renegade's arm. Matrix turned and looked at Bob. "What are you doing? We have to take him down!"

"I know, Matrix, but listen. If what he said is true than we need to find any survivors we can before we can attack." Bob sighed. "We can't just blast in when he has the numbers and most likely hostages or we'll be deleted or worse infected."

"I don't care, Bob! He's terrorized Mainframe long enough! I won't let him destroy my home again!" Matrix yelled in rage.

Bob put a hand on Matrix's shoulder. "And we won't. But we need to find the others."

Matrix sighed and calmed down. "All right."

"Let's regroup with Dot. She'll have a plan." Bob said and held up Glitch. "Glitch, system scan. Locate Dot and anyone else."

Glitch changed into a satellite dish and rotated several times before changing back to its original form. Bob looked as a map of the Principal Office appeared on the screen.

"Dot's several levels down with Hack and Slash while AndrAIa and Mouse are several corridors away from them."

Matrix nodded and pulled out his gun. They had to be cautious since they had no idea of what Megabyte was planning.

Xxx

Mouse slammed her fist into the console and let out a hiss when the annoying beep came up telling her she typed in the wrong password, _again_. "Spam it!"

"Easy, Mouse." AndrAIa said, keeping a close eye out on the three open corridors, making sure they weren't caught off by any virals.

"Easy, sugar? How can I take it easy when Megabyte's in there right now?" Mouse asked as she looked behind her. "Didn't you see what happened to Phong? If we don't do something Phong's efforts will be in vain!"

"I know, but we can't go in there when there are only two of us. We need to find Bob and Matrix before Megabyte finds us."

Mouse sighed. "You're right."

"First thing we do is find Bob, Matrix, Dot, the boys and anyone else who managed to get out of the war room intact."

"But what about Phong? We can't just leave him in there!" Mouse protested.

"Phong will make it, he's strong. It'll take more than that to get rid of him but the two of us won't be enough even if we get that door open." AndrAIa calmly replied.

Mouse sighed and banged the console. "All right, but where do we go? I didn't see which corridor the boys took Dot through."

"I don't know but taking a wrong corridor is better than running into Megabyte or his viral goons." AndrAIa shrugged.

"I guess we got some exploring." Mouse said as they took off through the hall.

"Mouse, something's wrong here, I've read up on all known types of viruses including Trojan Horse Viruses and using an alias is not one of their abilities." AndrAIa said as they cautiously walked.

"I know, sugar, I know all about viruses. Looks like Megabyte's got a few new surprises." Mouse replied. "Hope we can return the favor."

"We will." AndrAIa nodded. "Okay, Bob and Matrix were in the detention room when they called so they're on the other side of the building."

"I saw Hack and Slash get Dot out of the Command Room through the left door so she's with them. Nano of silence for Dot." Mouse muttered as she pointed to the left. "So if we go that way we might find Dot."

"Enzo and Welman…" AndrAIa trailed off.

"I'm sure they're fine, sugar. Let's just get out bearings and find the others." Mouse pulled out her katana and they walked down the hall.

Xxx

"Hunt? What did he mean by hunt?" Hack asked Slash.

"He's going to delete us all!" Slash cried in terror.

"I don't want to be deleted!" Hack cried.

"Neither do I!"

"Boys!" Dot shouted, scaring both the robots.

"Sorry Dot." Hack said.

"Yeah, we're sorry." Slash added.

"It's fine." Dot sighed. "It's fine."

Hack and Slash looked at each other and then back at Dot anxiously and questioned loudly. "So what's the plan?"

"I'm still trying to think of one, boys, so just keep watch and stay quiet and if you hear anyone just stay quiet." Dot said and they both robots saluted her quietly.

She didn't mean to be so hard on them, but her calculating thought process had been seriously stressed by everything that happened. They had just survived Damon and what should have been the happiest cycle of her entire life turned out to be the beginning of another big mistake on her list. She turned her back on Bob, _again, _left him in a coma while she busy almost marrying _Megabyte_! That virus…

There was no way of describing her feelings towards that virus…Hatred, anger, loathing, every bit of her entire conscious screamed out right rage towards the virus who destroyed her home, took away her brother's life, and even more so made her doubt herself as a friend to the one sprite she loved with all of her heart. And now he's take over the Principal Office, declaring his intent to hunt them and destroy them along with the city. Her fists tightened, threatening to break the skin.

'All right, Megabyte, you want to play? Fine, and this time only one of us will be walking out of this one.' Dot thought.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything belonging to Code: Lyoko, Total Drama, or Reboot. Code Lyoko is Property of Moonscoop, Reboot is the property of Mainframe Entertainment and Total Drama is the property of Fresh TV.**

Xxx

Chapter 3

As the sprites wandered through the maze Megabyte watched them on the surveillance monitor on the center screen. He smirked as he thought of his next move. He turned his eyes to Enzo to see that the young copy who struggled to get free from his father's grip.

"You want to see what I have in store for your friends? Very well then. Let's see if they can make it through this."

He turned to the downed figure of Phong who still had metallic tentacles attached to his body, keeping him from moving.

"Ah, Phong. Still conscious?" Megabyte asked as he stood over the downed sprite. "Good. I have need of your knowledge."

"I…Will tell you nothing…Virus." Phong muttered.

"Oh, how rude." Megabyte knelt down in front of the sprite. "Oh well, I thought I would ask first since it is normally the polite thing to do."

He smirked and raised his hand, sending several more tendrils out to the sprite, striking his body, causing him to scream in pain.

"Stop it!" Enzo yelled.

Megabyte was clearly enjoying the screams but he reminded himself he work to do. Among the other gifts he had received while in XANA's system he had obtained a way not only infect his victims and copy their code but he was even able to glean information from their minds and now was the perfect time to test it.

"Ah, Phong. You always were such an intelligent sprite." He chuckled as he retracted his tentacles.

"What did you do to him?!" Enzo shouted.

"Ah, the boy." Megabyte turned and walked over to him. "Like I said there's no point in infecting you since you wouldn't be able to do much. But as a psychological weapon that's a whole other idea. Take him to the Read Only Room; I'm sure he'll find something to entertain him there."

Two infected binomes dragged Enzo out of the room, allowing Megabyte to smirk since the annoying sprite was now gone. The door opened and they turned to see Megabyte's top scientist along his creation Bunnyfoot and Lieutenant Chauncy walk into the room escorted by zombie binomes.

"Ah, good. Welcome gentlemen." Megabyte turned to his most loyal henchmen. "Has everyone been armed?"

"Sir, yes sir." Chauncy saluted. "All forces have been armed and awaiting your command."

"Good. Herr Doctor, I believe my former pet's toy can use some…sprucing up." Megabyte smirked.

Herr Doctor was confused for a nanosecond before laughing out loud. "Oh, I got it. I got ya. I'll be on it right away."

"Lieutenant, send out our forces. I want this entire system viral by the end of this second. Delete anyone who resists."

"Sir!" Chauncy saluted.

Once everyone was gone he turned to primary console and held out his hand. Cable came out and attached themselves to it again. However instead of the usual infection streams of red energy pulse through the cable and the monitors went completely black before the Eye of XANA glowed bright red on all of them. The light was so bright that the command room was bathed in it, making it look even more intimidating than under Megabyte's control.

A few nanoseconds later the symbol faded the Vid-Windows returned to showing the city and the interior of the Principal Office.

Xxx

Everyone in the hallway of the Principal Office stopped as the lights flickered on and off several times.

"What in the Net?" Mouse looked at a console and ran over to it. "What is that rotten virus up to now?"

AndrAIa pulled out her trident and covered Mouse as she worked. "Any ideas?"

"Whatever it is, it's not Megabyte." Mouse looked over the codes. "These codes…They're not like anything I've ever seen. Some kind of download into the system, it's messing everything up."

"Can you send message to anyone, Bob, the Guardians?" AndrAIa asked.

"Nothing." Mouse banged the console.

Xxx

"Glitch, scan." Bob said, pointing Glitch at flickering lights.

"What's going on?" Matrix asked.

"Some kind of download." Bob replied. "It's nothing I've ever seen before."

Xxx

Megabyte watched as the city powered down and sent another pulse of red energy into the main computer. The Eye of XANA was then replaced with an image of Lilith.

"Megabyte! So good to see you again!" Lilith jumped up and giggled. "I wondered when you were going to call."

Megabyte was already used to Lilith's annoying behavior but still wondered how she of all people was XANA's second in command. He could admit Lilith was powerful, but her annoying personality reminded him a bit of his sister, Hexadecimal and not in a good way. Their personalities annoyed him since they represented everything he was not, calm and orderly. Lilith's behavior was typical of an ordinary young sprite, never taking things seriously unless she was in XANA's presence and even then she behaved like a little girl.

Megabyte wondered how XANA tolerated her personality, or the personalities of his other annoying generals.

"The first stage of the plan is complete; I am inside the Principal Office and have achieved complete control." Megabyte stated, getting right to the point. "XANA's files have been downloaded allowing me to control the system's defense and their communications."

"I knew you'd do it, you are such a workaholic and the acting you put on as that Guardian." Lilith laughed. "Wow, I can almost imagine a reward for such skills! So, you ready for Phase 2?"

"Of course, but first I need to access the Core Room where the Gateway Command is hidden. Fortunately, your master's gifts have come in handy." Megabyte smirked at the paralyzed Phong.

"You certainly love to play with your food." Lilith commented. "Everything's going good on our end too; soon enough the entire Net won't know what hit it. All you need to do now is get into the Core."

"That will not be a problem, but first I have business with the locals to finish. Once that is done I will proceed to the next phase." Megabyte waved his hand.

"You better not keep XANA waiting, he's put a lot of work in this plan and it depends on you." Lilith's smile turned to a stern look. "Don't disappoint him."

The Vid-Window closed leaving Megabyte alone.

"Don't worry, Lilith, when this over you and your master will see this whole system burned to the ground and you can have what's left of it." Megabyte growled.

Xxx

"So…huh, Dot, what do we do?" Hack asked.

"Yeah, what's the plan?" Slash asked.

"I just said that!" Hack tapped Slash on the shoulder.

"No, you asked what do we do. I asked what's the plan." Slash replied.

"They're the same thing!" Hack exclaimed.

"No, because you asked what do we do and I asked what the plan was." Slash pointed out.

"But they ask for the same kind of answer!"

"Huh?"

"What do we do means there must be a plan and plan means what should we do-" Hack was cut off by Dot.

"BOYS!" Dot shouted, not in the mood for their chatter. "Please stop!"

"Uh oh!" Slash moved back. "We did it again, Hack. We're so sorry!"

"Yeah, sorry Dot!" Hack cried.

"It's all right, just give me a nano to think of how we're going to find the others." Dot sighed.

"And then what?" Slash asked.

Dot's eyes narrowed. "Then we are going to kick that two-bit, underhand, virus out of my system and out my life!"

Hack and Slash moved back a little more, a little scared of how mad Dot looked.

"Uh oh, she's mad now buddy." Hack whispered to Slash.

"I hope we never get her mad." Slash whispered back.

"You will if you guys keep talking." Dot said, having heard them.

They both yelped and put their hands over their mouths. Dot sighed as she rubbed her head. "Okay, we need to find Bob and Matrix. I also need to know who didn't make it out."

"Uh…Dot, we could find them." Slash spoke up.

"How?" Dot asked.

"Yeah, how?" Hack asked.

"Oh, when Phong put his back together he gave downloaded a map of the Principal Office into us. He also gave us scans to track your PIDs if you needed rescuing." Slash replied. "Remember Hack?"

"Let's see…" Hack concentrated as he tried to remember. "…Nope, doesn't ring bell."

"It's easy, here." Slash held up a hand a Vid-Window showing a detailed map of the Principal Office appeared.

"We are here." Slash pointed to three small dots a hallway down from the War Room. "Bob and Matrix are here." His finger went several corridors down to near the Detention Center. "Oh! And Mouse and AndrAIa are here!" His finger settled down on the hall that was right outside the right door of the War Room.

"They made it out." Dot sighed in relief. "And they're a few corridors from us. We need to meet up with Mouse and AndrAIa, they're the closest. Lead the way Slash."

"Right!" Slash saluted and quickly led Hack and Dot down the hall.

"Say, Slash, could you show me how to do that?" Hack asked.

"Okay, just ask for the map." Slash replied.

"Okay…." Hack mentally asked for the map...and a nanosecond later the map came up in front of him. "I got it!"

"Hack!" Dot put a hand over his mouth. "Not so loud."

"Sorry!" He whispered.

Dot sighed as she followed Slash.

'Everyone, please be safe.' She prayed to the User that all of her loved ones were still okay.

Xxx

Bob and Matrix moved down the hall with Glitch and Matrix's gun pointed at any place an enemy could be hiding behind.

"Which way now, Bob?" Matrix asked.

Bob looked down at Glitch, noticing how everyone was moving.

"Mouse and AndrAIa are heading to meet up with Dot." Bob replied. "We still need to go up one level to meet with them."

"Good." Matrix nodded.

"No, not good. There's no way of knowing what we might run into." Bob looked around.

"We could just Portal to them." Matrix looked to a pair of crates.

"Good idea." Bob nodded.

Matrix aimed his Gun at the crates and pulled the trigger. The crates exploded, releasing a small Tear that floated in the middle of the hall.

"Glitch, Portal." Bob aimed Glitch at the Tear.

Glitch fired a beam of light that hit the Tear and turned it into a Portal to the hallway everyone else was in. Matrix jumped at the Portal but to his and Bob's surprise he was repelled by a blast of red light. He flew back into the wall, releasing a cry of pain from his mouth.

"Matrix!" Bob ran over and knelt down next to the renegade.

"What the Dell…." Matrix growled.

"Glitch, scan." Bob pointed at the portal.

They saw a faint red glowing light surrounding the portal that was most likely what repelled Matrix when he tried to use the Portal.

"Bob, what's going on?" Matrix got up.

"I don't know it's some kind of energy wall blocking us from entering the portal." Bob got up as he looked over the readings.

"That's impossible!" Matrix exclaimed.

"I know…but it's there." Bob watched as the Portal vanished. "This can't be Megabyte's doing."

"Now what?" Matrix asked.

"We'll have to find the others the hard way." Bob sighed.

Xxx

A small ship cruised through the Web, its scans endlessly scanning the corrupted void for any signs of strange activity. The pilot wore black armor and a helmet which was designed to protect him from the Web's corroding and degrading effects. He had already been here for several microseconds, exploring the Web for wherever a virus like Megabyte could find something here that could give him Trojan Horse Viral capabilities. So far all scans had shown everything that was consistent with the Web.

He had started with Mainframe's Web Address since it is the most likely place Megabyte would have emerged from when the Web Creatures pulled him through the portal and into the Web. Scans confirmed signs of several dead web creatures meaning Megabyte had put up a fight when he came through the portal. Still though, after fighting the Web Creatures he could have floated for who knows how long considering how long it had between when he had been pulled in and when the war with Daemon had ended. This would be a whole simpler if the Web Surfer that had brought him back to Mainframe while he was disguised as Bob explained where he found Megabyte but he took off somewhere and was most likely heading back to Mainframe.

Since he had no leads he had to make do with current clues he had even though they were not a whole lot.

"Dac, recording log." Tom said and his keytool accessed the ship's log and a beeping red light showed the recording had started. "First log, it's been three microseconds since my arrival in the Web. My mission here is to locate the cause of how the virus called Megabyte was able to upgrade from a Class Three File Infector to a Class Four Trojan Horse virus in the Web. I have already checked Mainframe's Web Address to find clues on how it could have happened but for now all I have found are dead web creatures which I believe to be courtesy of Megabyte when he arrived here. For now the ship's scanners are tuned to locate any strange activity inside the Web but it's easier said than done considering the Web's state meaning it might take some time. This recording is to be saved and when possible sent back to the Supercomputer for Turbo to review.

End Log."

The recording stopped and Tom piloted the ship away from the tear and headed out into the Web. It seemed like an endless chaotic vortex of data that formed what looked like galaxies to anybody who was not aware of what the Web truly was. He observed several shapes gliding by randomly, only catching brief glimpses.

"Activating ship scanner." Tom whispered, flicking a switch. "Recording Log 1.1: there are more variety of web creatures than initially believed." Tom said. "Already my scanner's are documenting and categorizing seven different models. They are all of varying size and shape and appear docile, not interested in my intrusion."

A single web creature flew by the ship and stopped to look at it. Tom looked up at the creature, noticing it was different than any other kind of web creature he had seen before. It had black skin like most other web creatures but it resembled a shark with a long fin on its back with red veins. What it had for eyes was a single strange red icon that he had never seen before.

It growled, showing razor sharp teeth making him think it was going to attack. However it flew back and away from the ship.

"That was strange." Tom muttered, not liking the way it looked at him. "Dac, long range scan, track that creature."

The Key tool complied and the screen showed the web creature heading for a data storm. Tom surged the ship forward, confident that the ship's shields would protect him from the storm. As he approached the storm Dac alerted him to several objects leaving it. Looking ahead he could see a heard of web creatures looking the same as the one he just encountered.

"Oh, dell!" Tom throttled the ship out of the way as the creatures attempted to ram the ship.

However the herd simply flew by the ship, not sparing it a glance.

"Dac, recording." Tom's Keytool beeped. "I have come upon a previously unknown class of web creatures coming from a very large data storm. I am uploading images that will be sent to the Supercomputer along with all recordings. Eng Log."

Dac beeped again letting Tom know the recording had ended. Tom then turned the ship around and followed the Web Creatures. Following at a safe distance he observed the new Web creatures as they journeyed through the Web. As his ship followed them Tom saw a blue light in the distance that seemed to be the herd's destination.

"They're heading for a Tear." Tom held up Dac. "Dac, scan."

His keytool complied and ran a detailed scan of the Tear.

"It leads to the Edge of Beyond." Tom read the readings. "The border between the Net and the Web."

The herd of Web Creatures stopped in front of the Tear, hovering around it until the leading Web Creature flew forward. It slammed into the Tear and stabilized it into a portal. The rest of hoard went through the portal, leaving the Web.

"By the User, no!" Tom gasped."Dac, Weapon systems!"

Dac activated the weapons on the ship which was two energy cannons as Tom angled the ship around and fired on the creature that shot at him. They hit one of Web Creatures before the portal closed leaving only four of them left. The remaining creatures turned and flew at the ship again, one opened its mouth and a flash of red light was seen before it fired a bolt of red light. It struck the ship, damaging its shields badly.

"That was unexpected!" Tom said, as the blast damaged the engines.

He quickly aimed and fired the ship's energy cannons, returning fire to the hostile monsters. The first creature flew around, dodging a few shots before it was hit and exploded. The three other creatures roared and shot at him with their own lasers but he learned his lesson and began maneuvering the ship out of the way of the blasts. He and the creatures flew and swirled around trying to hit each other until he hit another one leaving two left.

However before he could hit the other two they flew away back towards the data storm they came from.

"Looks like we scared them off, Dac." Tom sighed in relief. "That was close though."

He then looked over at the data storm the creatures came from.

"…Dac, recording: this message may only be accessed by Turbo or any top guardian." Tom stated. "I have encountered a new kind of Web creature that has proven to be very dangerous. I will move to investigate their origin. They have stabilized the Tear leading to the Edge of Beyond and several of them made it through; recommend that all Guardians in any nearby systems respond immediately. All other relevant data is being transmitted to Super Computer and all systems in reach in event that my vessel is compromised and destroyed."

Grasping the controls, Tom followed the last two Web Creatures into the data storm. There were lines of web creatures trailing into it that he followed.

"I am unable to scan the interior of the of the data storm I have found where the web creatures have come from. The storm's size is estimated to be about twenty times larger than a regular data storm. The cloud is also inconsistent with the usual storm patterns. This leads me to believe the storm is not natural. I shall now set a course to see if I can pilot my way through the storm."

Dac ended the recording and Tom gripped the controls and programmed it to move to the center of the storm. The journey through the storm lasted for some time, the trip was rocky but luckily the shields managed to protect the ship and Tom until the ship came into the center. Tom looked amazed as the storm seemed to calm in an instant but what was surprising was the massive sphere like structure in the center of the storm.

"Dac, scanner."

Dac hooked up to the console and the ship began a system scan but all scans were reflected back.

"Scans are reflected back? Dac, what can you tell me?"

Dac beeped in keytool language and from it sounded Tom got a frustrated look. "From what it looks like it has the properties of a fire wall. That explains why the scans were reflected back. I don't know of any firewall that acts like this. I better take a closer look."

He piloted his ship into the storm and looked around for signs of anything that the storm would be attempting to protect. He found what he was looking for in the form of a large sphere that seemed to be just floating there.

"Dac, scanner." His keytool activated and scanned the structure. "That's odd. I'm getting almost nothing." He sighed. "I knew this wouldn't be easy."

He flew his ship close to the structure which seemed to react as a blue light came out of the sphere and scanned his ship.

"Dac, identify!" Tom said, alarmed by the sudden occurrence.

Dac beeped, replying to his order. "We're being scanned? Scanned for what?"

The sphere shifted as a strange icon resembling the one on the web creatures pulsed on it, glowing a bright white light that nearly blinded Tom. A blast of energy emerged from symbol and wrapped itself around the ship.

"Dac, shields!" Tom shouted.

However the shields were useless against the energy blast as all controls on the ship seemed to go dead.

"Dac, scan!" Tom gripped the control sticks.

The keytool beeped as it brought up scans of the ship.

"All the controls are locked, I can't do anything." Tom looked up as the ship was pulled towards the symbol.

He thought he was going to crash but to his shock the ship went through the symbol as if it was not even there! Darkness covered his view as he slowly piloted the ship inside. Then without warning he seemingly passed through a portal as he could see again, only now he was not in the sphere, the data storm, or even the Web itself!

"By the User…" Tom gasped as he looked out the window of the cockpit.

He was in some kind of upside down city but it was unlike any kind of city submerged in some kind of liquid he had never seen before and as a Guardian he had been to many systems throughout the Net. The ship had emerged from a large upside down tower with the same pulsing icon that he had never seen before. Once Tom's ship had completely come through the symbol the white light died down.

"Dac, scanner." Tom held up his keytool.

Dac hooked up with the ship's sensors and scanned the environment they were now in. Tom looked at the readings Dac was showing.

"It's nothing like the energy sea. The water is made of pure code, not energy. But that's impossible." Tom read the scans. "And distance…I cannot discern any boundaries to this area, but the local energy has begun to recharge the reserves of my vessel already-not that it was needed, but a noticeable affect none the less." He began to navigate among the buildings. "Everything here is unlike the web, yet completely like it in the way that it is free flowing data. Instead of being violent and dangerous like the web however, it seems more…calm."

Xxx

While Tom was exploring the new level of Cyberspace he had found himself at the same in a place far from where he was something stirred. His entrance into the new universe had not gone unnoticed.

'A Guardian in the Network? I was careless; I never thought anyone else would find the hub.' XANA thought.

His operations in the Net had been kept secret but if the Guardians were to learn of the source of Megabtye's new powers and connecting any unusual activity to the Hub in the Web there'd be a lot of attention directed here. This is something XANA did not want; he worked best when his work was undetected by anyone. But…there may be a way to turn this to his advantage. There was a chance that the Guardian would be lost in the Digital Sea and never find his way back but that was unlikely, Guardians were not that basic.

He could send out his Digital Sea monsters to get rid of the Guardian right now, but Aelita no doubt had programs monitoring the network for any sign of activity related to him. If she found out that he was active in the Digital Sea she might try to learn what was happening. That was when XANA got a new idea, a way to turn this situation to his advantage.

'This might be even better now, a chance to take out the Warriors and secure my power in both worlds.' XANA smirked.

He quickly sent out a summons to his generals. One by one they appeared in the room while XANA's Avatar materialized in front of them.

"You sent for us?" Lilith bowed slightly.

"A new situation has arisen from the Net, a Guardian has arrived." XANA announced.

"Guardian? They found their way here?" Jinx tilted her head.

"No, it was an accident, something I could have prevented but I was careless." XANA however didn't seem unhappy about. "But this could work to our advantage."

"And how is that?" Sora scratched his head.

"I will be activating a tower in Lyoko, the signal will be used to draw the Guardian there. Make sure he reaches Lyoko, and be prepared for the Warriors to arrive." XANA explained.

"But, if the Guardian and the Warriors meet…" Jinx started.

"I know, and that is what I want." XANA smirked. "Make it look like you are trying to delete him, by all means don't hold back on him but make sure he's processing when the Warriors arrive."

"Another trap?" Blade sighed. "I prefer a real fight to a staged one."

"Don't worry, Blade." XANA turned around. "You'll have the fight you want, as soon as the warriors take the bait."

"We will head to Lyoko now, Master." Lilith said as a portal opened up.

"Good, now, which tower should I choose?" XANA looked over the map of Lyoko. "It's been a while since we tried the Ice Sector."

He pointed to a tower in the Mountain Sector and sent out the command. Through the connection to Lyoko he felt the Tower activate which attract the attention of the Warriors and the Guardian.

'I wonder if this how it feels to be a director in a play. Setting up the stage for the grand finale.' XANA thought as his generals vanished into the portal.

It certainly would be very interesting.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything belonging to Code: Lyoko, Total Drama, or Reboot. Code Lyoko is Property of Moonscoop, Reboot is the property of Mainframe Entertainment and Total Drama is the property of Fresh TV.**

Xxx

Chapter 4

Tom looked at Dac as it started beeping again. His keytool had detected a signal be emitted from the network.

"A large power signature has been detected. It's higher than any kind of power reading I have ever seen. Just what is this place?" He wondered out loud. "How can anybody live in this place?"

Deciding he had nothing else to lose he set course and the ship's engines came to life, even thought it was technically underwater the ship seemed to function as if it nothing had completely changed.

"Dac, record." Tom said to his keytool. "During my mission to track the source of Megabyte's upgrade in the Web I have come across a new network of some kind. This new environment is some kind of underwater upside down city, with no signs of any kind life. The water seems to be form of energy of some kind as my ship's power reserves have been recharged to full and show no sign of decreasing. I have detected a large power signature that seems stationary but is more powerful than even the core of the Supercomputer. I am proceeding to investigate and hope to find some answers."

Xxx

Aelita dropped her backpack after another day of school. She smirked at the fact that she managed to finish her work and have some spare time. That spare time would be used for…

BEEP! BEEP!

Aelita turned to her computer as a new window opened showing the super scan detecting an activated tower on Lyoko.

"Speak of the digital devil." Aelita sighed.

She pulled out her cell phone.

"I hope the others aren't doing anything important now." Aelita muttered as she waited for the person she was calling to pick up.

Xxx

"Coming at you, live from inside the Principal Office, everyone's favorite appliance, MIKE THE TV!" Mike said as he ran down the hall. "Oh the horror! The sheer maddening horror! Our heroes are forced into a game of survival while being hunted by revenge driven Megabyte who can appear as anyone by just touching them! Will our heroes make it through and save the day or will Megabyte have his revenge?"

He stopped in the middle of the hall.

"Tune in as your favorite appliance risks it all to find out!" Mike declared and stood still for a second, looking like he was on a stage with everyone applauding him….before breaking down and crying. "Oh who am I kidding? I'm never going to make it out of here! And I never got the Oscar of the Hour!" He looked up and shouted. "ARE YOU HAPPY NOW?!"

He got up and quickly ran behind a crate.

"Got to keep calm. Bob and Dot will find a way to save us, they always find a way to save us!" Mike whispered to himself. "But what if they fail this time? And Megabyte…"

He shrank behind the crate shaking in fear.

"I want my mechanic."

Xxx

"Oh look! We're really close to Mouse and AndrAIa!" Hack exclaimed happily.

"I know! Really, really close!" Slash agreed.

"Probably close enough for AndrAIa to…" Dot looked forward and shouted. "MOUSE! ANDRAIA!"

"Mouse!" Hack cried.

"AndrAIa!" Slash cried.

Xxx

"Did you hear that?" AndrAIa asked, turning to Mouse who was easy to see because of her fiery hair.

"Sure did sugar. Sounds like Dot is up ahead with Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dumber." Mouse chuckled. "She sounds fine to me."

"Oh yeah." AndrAIa chuckled.

"We better get there before Dot tears them apart." Mouse said.

They took off, following the voices until they came upon Dot with the two squabbling robots.

"DOT!" Both girls cried, gaining their attention.

Dot turned around, smiling happily when she saw them as she ran up hugged them both.

"You made it!" Dot cried.

"Honey, you ain't getting rid of us that easily." Mouse smiled as they broke apart.

"Did you see anyone else make it out? Phong? Dad? Enzo?" Dot asked anxiously.

"Sorry, Phong stayed in to save the both of us." AndrAIa sorrowfully replied. "I am not sure if Enzo made it out but his dad tried."

Dot ran a hand through her hair. "I messed up big time; Megabyte predicted all of our actions perfectly. I didn't think Trojan Horse Viruses were capable of producing aliases."

"They aren't." AndrAIa replied. "Matrix and Bob aren't the only ones who read up on viruses, I helped Enzo study when he was learning how to be a guardian and there was nothing saying that Trojan Horse Viruses could copy themselves."

"She's right, sugar, I know a thing or two about Viruses and what Megabyte did ain't possible." Mouse said.

"What now?" AndrAIa asked.

"Yeah, what now?" Hack and Slash asked.

"We can't do this alone, Megabyte's got us trapped. We need reinforcements." Dot replied. "I need to access the Vid-Window communication network, see if we can get a signal out to the Guardians, and get a viral containment team as soon as possible."

"Good luck with that sugar; I can't access any of the consoles to any room that access the network. Megabyte's locked me out." Mouse replied.

"Then we need to get to the Auxiliary Core Control Center, I'm positive Megabyte's hasn't done anything there yet." Dot replied. "Get there, we can send a call out to the Guardians and maybe we can cut off Megabyte's control off the Principal Office."

"I'll go; you, AndrAIa, and the boys need to get out of here." Mouse said.

"But Mouse…" Dot started.

"We're too vulnerable like this, cut off from the outside without any help. If we all go we might walk into a trap and never get out." Mouse cut her off. "Better one of us goes and risks deletion than all of us."

"She's got a point, Dot." AndrAIa reluctantly agreed. "We're not in a position to take back the war room."

"…All right, go but make it back." Dot said.

"You know it." Mouse winked at her.

"We need to find Bob and Matrix, find anyone else that has not been infected and get moving." AndrAIa turned to Dot. "If we want to take back the War Room we're going to need numbers."

"And contact with people outside the Principal Office." Dot nodded. "Who knows how long before Megabyte turns to them."

"Well, I'm off. See ya in a bit." Mouse took off, hoping to find her way through the maze.

"Think she'll make it?" Dot asked.

"She's tough, she can handle it." AndrAIa replied. "In the meantime, where are Bob and Matrix?"

"Boys?" Dot turned to Hack and Slash.

"Yes, Dot!" Hack and Slash saluted her.

"Can you locate Bob and Matrix?"

"On it!" Both robots loaded two Vid-Windows showing their map of the Principal Office.

"There they are." Dot pointed two small dots on the map, a floor beneath them. "They're making their way up here."

"We better meet up with them before Matrix decides to blow the doors down and take the War Room by force." AndrAIa said.

"Agreed. Lead the way boys." Dot said.

Hack and Slash saluted and quickly started leading the girls to meet up with the Guardian and the Renegade.

Xxx

Megabyte chuckled as he watched the group through the center Vid-Window. "Ah, such a happy reunion between friends and comrades. I believe now is the time."

He closed his eyes and grunted in pain as he split into two. Both Megabytes looked at each with evil grins.

"Monitor the Guardian and the Renegade while I deal with Ms. Matrix and her group." Megabyte said, stepping towards the door.

The copy took over Megabyte's previous role of monitoring the interior of the Principal Office while the real one stepped out into the hall.

"Let's add a little excitement into the hunt." Megabyte looked at the lights and they suddenly went out leaving the entire hall in darkness.

But Megabyte was not worried; after all stalking prey from the dark is a predator's specialty.

Xxx

Bob and Matrix stopped as the lights went out.

"Glitch, light!" Bob said, making Glitch turn on a light allowed them to see through the dark.

"What is he up to?" Matrix growled, his bionic eye glowing red allowing him to see.

"Probably preparing for his hunt." Bob held Glitch up in case something tried to attack them.

Xxx

"Oh the lights went out!" Hack cried. "What could that mean?"

"I don't know! I'm not in charge of the lights!" Slash cried.

"What should we do?" Hack cried.

"Boys." Dot spoke up. "Calm down, the lights went out but you guys have flashlights right?"

"Oh right!" Hack and Slash said at the same time.

"I was about to say that." Hack said.

"You were not!" Slash exclaimed.

"Were too!"

"Were not!"

"Were too!"

"Were not!"

"Were too!"

"BOYS! ENOUGH ALREADY!" Dot shouted, rubbing her head.

AndrAIa pulled out her trident and pointed at Hack and Slash. "The next one who says another word will be going to scrap heap!"

Hack and Slash quickly zipped their mouths shut and saluted them.

Xxx

Megabyte's copy watched as Bob and Matrix ran faster to catch up with the others.

"I don't think so."

He tapped in several commands and chuckled as he eagerly waited for the carnage to begin.

Xxx

Matrix and Bob ran down the dark hall with Glitch acting as a flash light so they could see. They suspected Megabyte was starting his hunt and knew they had to find the others quick. Glitch started beeping loudly catching Bob's attention.

"Matrix, wait!" Bob called out stopping himself.

Matrix stopped and turned around. "What is it?"

"I think Glitch is detecting something." Bob replied as he held Glitch up.

The keytool showed a radar with two of them in the center and red circles heading towards them.

"Virals?" Matrix held up his gun.

"I don't know." Bob looked up.

Matrix turned and activated his mechanical eye, scanning the dark hall and zoomed in when he spotted something. Dark green lights emitting a strange beeping sound as they flew towards the sprites, while seemingly bouncing off the walls.

"Oh no, this is bad." Bob said when he realized what they were up against. "Matrix, we need to move now!"

He didn't give Matrix the chance to ask as he took off the Renegade following him. Looking back he could see small flying saucers like the ones used…Phong's favorite game!

"Game pucks!"

"Yeah, except they're energy seeking and explosive!" Bob explained.

The two sprites ran as fast as they could down the hall with the explosive pucks gaining on them.

"This getting us nowhere! That virus's trying to cut us off from the others!" Matrix panted.

"And it's working!" Bob agreed.

"Not for long." Matrix came to a complete stop and turned around. "Gun Command Line – Rapid fire mode, multiple targets!"

Matrix's eye glowed red as he zeroed in on the pucks, waiting for them to come into range.

"Three…Two…One!" Matrix pulled the trigger and his gun fired a barrage of bullets at the flying explosives.

When a bullet hit one of them it exploded and took any close pucks with them, scorching the hallway as pipes and crates were sent flying. Matrix kept firing; not stopping until every explosive puck was destroyed, but as he fired one puck was hit and exploded against the wall causing the ceiling to collapse. The remaining pucks were crushed by the falling debris leaving a makeshift wall in front of the two sprites. Matrix lowered his gun and sighed in relief as he and Bob took the chance to catch their breath.

Blowing smoke from the tip of his gun he turned and faced Bob. "Great, we're cut off again."

"Glitch, tracker." Bob looked down at Glitch. "Oh no."

"What?" Matrix walked over, wondering what else had gone wrong.

When he looked down he saw three more red circles like the game pucks, but they weren't heading for Bob and him. They were heading for the circles that represented Dot, Hack, Slash, and AndrAIa!

"Dot and the others have got company!" Bob looked up.

"And we can't get to them in time!" Matrix punched the wall in anger.

"There's something else. Mouse is not with the group." Bob looked pointed to the small circle that was Mouse. "She's heading away from them."

"Why would she do that?" Matrix asked.

"She's heading for the CPU Control Center….She might be trying to access communications." Bob replied. "Get a distress signal out to the Guardians."

"What about you, Bob? Can't you get call them?"

"I'll try." Bob looked down at Glitch. "Glitch, Net Wide Alert."

Glitch beeped but Bob could only hear static.

"Well?" Matrix asked.

"Something's not right…." Bob trailed off. "Something's jamming all communications, even Glitch can't send out a signal."

"What? What could Megabyte have done to jam Glitch?" Matrix exclaimed.

"Nothing, not even being in the War Room would give him access to anything that could jam signal sent by a Key Tool." Bob replied. "This is bad; if Megabyte's not behind this then…someone else might be behind it."

Xxx

AndrAIa peeked over around the corner of the corridor with Dot behind her followed closely by Hack and Slash. Once the coast was clear she gestured with her hand to follow as she led them down the hall.

"Where should we go?" AndrAIa asked as Dot walked up next to her.

"Well, we can't use the evacuation codes to get out of here so we need to do it the old fashioned way." Dot whispered. "If I remember, there's a secret hatch that leads us to down to an underground room allowing us to escape through the sewers. From there we can get out and get help."

AndrAIa nodded as she followed Dot's directions but stopped a nanosecond later, holding out her hand to stop Dot and the two robots.

"What is it?" Dot asked.

"I hear something." AndrAIa whispered.

Hack and Slash hid behind Dot, remembering AndrAIa's threat to disassemble them if they spoke up. They looked down the hall and heard something coming out of a corner. They got ready to fight when they saw it was….a group of cleaning bots.

"Cleaners?" AndrAIa asked, lowering her trident. "That was unexpected."

"AndrAIa move!" Dot shouted.

The Cleaners raised their arms they morphed into cannons. AndrAIa gasped as the robots fired at her but Dot quickly ordered Hack and Slash to pull her out of the way. Both robots grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her out of the way of the lasers blasts.

"Run!" Dot shouted as they took off with the Cleaners following them.

"I thought they were simple cleaning bots!" AndrAIa shouted over the sound of the lasers firing.

"They are…But they're also security bots!" Dot replied, mentally kicking herself.

She should have predicted Megabyte would use the security system against them.

"Hack! Slash! Take them out!" She shouted.

"Roger!" Both robots turned and their hands turned into missile launchers.

They fired at the robots, blasting them to bits. Dot and AndrAIa stopped, panting as they looked broken robots.

"Wow that close!" Hack exclaimed.

"It sure was!" Slash nodded.

"But we made it."

"We sure did."

"Are you okay?" AndrAIa asked.

"I should have figured Megabyte would use the security system on us. He's got the War Room under his control; he can control almost anything from there!" Dot banged her head. "How could I be so basic?"

"Easy, we need you to save that anger for when we go after Megabyte." AndrAIa put a hand on Dot's shoulder. "If we can't get out of here we need to find Bob and Matrix."

"All right." Dot nodded. "Boys."

Hack and Slash reactivated their maps of the Principal Office, displaying the locations of their friends.

"Why are Bob and Matrix moving away, that way will take ten kiliseconds to get up here?" AndrAIa pointed to Bob and Matrix's location.

"Megabyte must have cut them off somehow, keeping them from meeting up with us." Dot frowned. "He's trying to keep us separate so he can pick us off one by one."

"I hope Mouse is having more fun than the rest of us." AndrAIa replied. "What should we do now?"

"We take a short cut to meet up with Bob and Matrix, head down to the level they are on and meet up with them as they head for us." Dot replied. "Mouse will have reached the Read Only Room by now and hopefully will have sent a distress call to the Guardians."

Xxx

Mouse crept silently through the hall, her sword held tightly as she moved cautiously towards the door to the Auxiliary Core Control Center. She pulled the door open and walked inside, seeing the main console in the center of the room with Vid-Windows showing all sectors of the city.

"Come on, come on." Mouse tapped the commands for accessing Mainframe's communication systems.

She then tuned it to the bandwidth the Guardians used but to her disappointment all she got was static.

"Spam!" Mouse slammed her fists into the console.

"Oh, such a disappointment isn't it?" A very familiar voice made Mouse spin around, pulling out her katana, glaring at the person standing at the door.

Megabyte smirked as he walked into room, casually strolling towards the angry Mouse as he flexed his claws. "Ah, Mouse, good to see you again."

"I thought I smelled something horrible." Mouse snarled.

"Now, now, Mouse, how can you say that after all we've been through, everything we have shared? I feel sorry that we couldn't get a chance to catch up when I returned." Megabyte examined his claws.

"Yeah, I feel about it too, honey. Bad that I didn't sub-divide you into little pieces during the wedding." Mouse readied her katana. "Want to try?"

"My thoughts exactly, after all, one last double cross right?" Megabyte laughed.

Mouse yelled and charged, intending on carrying out her threat slice Megabyte to bits. The virus took a step back, her sword missing his face by a few inches. Mouse swung her sword again and again but Megabyte easily dodged each swing, seemingly not making an effort at all. Megabyte unleashed a tentacle that wrapped around Mouse's arm, locking it in place.

Mouse grunted as Megabyte raised his other hand to impale her chest with his claws. Mouse jumped and launched both her feet into Megabyte's chest, pulling out smaller knife from her boot she cut the tentacle holding her arm and kicked off Megabyte's chest which launched herself back a few feet. Megabyte growled, stepping forward, choosing to go on the offense as he slashed at the hacker with his claws. The hacker nimbly dodged each strike, even thought one managed to slash her left shoulder armor.

Mouse threw her knife at Megabyte's face but the virus leaned to the right and the knife passed right by him. Mouse raised her katana and swung but Megabyte raised his left arm and blocked the strike, his metallic armored skin shrugging off the sword easily without leaving a scratch. Megabyte then swung his arm, slamming into Mouse's chest armor and sending her flying into the console. The controls sparked when she hit the console and slid down to the ground.

Megabyte stepped forward, smirking at his victory but as he raised his claws to deliver the final blow Mouse threw another knife at his head. However the blade didn't scratch him as it slammed into his forehead. Mouse took the chance to roll out of the way and grabbed her katana. As Megabyte turned to face her, she thrust her katana forward through his mouth and it came out the other side. Megabyte gagged as Mouse pulled out her katana.

"One last double cross." Mouse smirked.

But as Megabyte fell, his form shattered in a shower of lights and pixels. Mouse's eyes widened as she realized what happened but was too late to react. A metal tentacle reached out and wrapped around her neck and she was pulled back. Dropping her sword on the ground because of the surprise she tried to pull the tentacle off her neck but the grip was too strong.

Megabyte stepped out of the darkness, smirking in Mouse's struggle. He retracted the tentacle pulling her towards him and raised his hand which pulled Mouse up until she could barely touch the ground with her feet. With little effort he tossed Mouse into the wall and she slammed into it hard, falling to the ground, groaning in pain. Megabyte laughed as he walked over and grabbed Mouse by the head.

"One last double cross, indeed." Megabyte raised his claws.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything belonging to Code: Lyoko, Total Drama, or Reboot. Code Lyoko is Property of Moonscoop, Reboot is the property of Mainframe Entertainment and Total Drama is the property of Fresh TV.**

Xxx

Chapter 5

"They're okay, they made it!" Bob and Matrix sighed in relief when Glitch showed the red circles chasing Dot and AndrAIa vanished.

They had been worried when they saw that Megabyte was using the Principal Office's security system against his enemies. Seeing Dot and AndrAIa make it out alive was a relief to both of them.

"Okay, we take the stairs up and we'll meet them in a few micro seconds." Bob said, looking at Glitch as it displayed Dot and AndrAIa's location.

"What about Mouse?" Matrix asked.

"She's heading towards the others now." Bob replied a nanosecond later. "She must have found out that communications are out."

"Pretty sure she was happy about that." Matrix had a small smirk.

"Yeah, we better hurry and meet up before Megabyte get's anymore ideas." Bob said as they started walking again.

Xxx

"Don't be so hopeful Guardian." Megabyte smirked at the Vid-Window showing Bob and Matrix.

He waved his hand and another Vid-Window appeared, showing his viral binomes.

"Herr Doctor, how goes the arming of my troops?"

"Ya ya, Lord Megabyte, all staff members here are infected and ready to serve." His top minion bowed. "Shall I send them out to deal the intruders?"

"No, no, I have something better planned for them. What's the status of my pet's toy?" Megabyte asked.

"It is fully armed and ready to be cause destruction." The doctor laughed.

"Excellent, send it out to meet Bob and Matrix before they meet up with their friends. It'll be a touching family reunion." Megabyte chuckled.

"Oh ya! I got it!" The evil binome laughed as Megabyte closed the window.

"Now, as for the others…"

Xxx

"Log 7." Tom spoke up. "For the last ten nanoseconds I have journeyed through what appears to be another level of Cyberspace, completely different from the Net and the Web. The upside down city is uninhabited but the amount of information being processed here is several times the size and speed of the Supercomputer. The buildings seem to be storage units for data but I see no way of entering them. I scanned the tower that brought us here and it appears to be a control point of the city and a portal to the Web." Tom looked around the strange city as his ship continued its journey through the strange sea. "But is that the only hub in the city or is there one that leads to the Net? I am homing in on the large energy signature and I will take detailed scans when I find. Without a doubt I believe this is connected with Megabyte's upgrade and we are dealing with something bigger than we thought. End Log."

Tom looked up as the scanners showed that he was really close to the energy source he had detected. Looking up his eyes widened and his jaw dropped when he saw a massive sphere, bigger than the one floating in the Web. As the ship approached Tom noticed a small opening at the bottom of the sphere with same symbol imprinted on it as the tower he had emerged from.

"That strange icon again." Tom said as the ship stopped in front of the gate. "Dac, scan."

His keytool beeped and ran a scan of the gate as Tom held his arm out.

"A password protected gate…Dac, decode." Tom looked up. "We need to get inside; if there's someone here who can help us get back we need to get in."

Dac beeped as it wirelessly connected with the gate's system and attempted to decode the gate's security system.

"It's more complex than even the Supercomputer's top security systems." Tom was surprised by the level of security that the gate had. "Just what could be in there that need a security system like this?"

The strange eye like icon on the gate flashed white, catching Tom's eyes as the gate began to open.

"Good work, Dac." Tom smiled, but when his keytool beeped his smile became a confused look. "You didn't…"

The gate opened, allowing the ship to enter but Tom was hesitant to enter. If Dac was unable to get through the security than it meant….

"Someone's expecting us, Dac." Tom frowned. "Copy all of our scans into a message pod and direct it back to the tower we came from. Hopefully it will go back through and someone will find it."

The keytool complied and a small pod was fired out of the bottom of the ship. The pod then moved away, following the coordinates instructed into it back towards the tower they had come from.

"Here we go." Tom gripped the controls sticks and pushed them forward.

The engines propelled the ship forward into the gate, hopefully prepared for whatever was inside. However there was nothing in the entire Net that could prepare him for what was awaiting him on the other side.

Xxx

Matrix grunted as he used both of his hands to force the sealed door open. But despite his great strength the door didn't even butch. After five nanoseconds he gave up and kicked the door in frustration.

"Why did Phong have to make everything in here so difficult?"

"You know Phong, always prepared for anything." Bob stepped forward. "Glitch, cutter."

Glitch changed into a bladed wheel as Bob stepped towards the door and the wheel began to spin, cutting its way through the door. Bob slowly but surely cut his through the door until Matrix kicked it down, making a hole large enough for him and Bob enter. Once they made it through they continued down the hall, hoping to find their friends very soon.

"Matrix, we got movement up ahead!" Bob held out his arm in front of the renegade.

"Who?" Matrix held out his gun. "Dot? Virals?"

"Neither…it's-" Bob was cut off by the sound of metallic footsteps.

The lights came back on revealing…

"Dad?" Matrix gasped.

Standing down the hall from them was Welman Matrix in his exo-skeleton suit but it was colored blue instead of yellow showing that it had been infected. It had missile launchers on its wrist, sharp claws on its fingers and a large cannon on its right shoulder.

"Enzo! Bob! Don't come near me! I can't control my body!" Welman shouted.

His robotic body raised its arms and fired its missile launchers and its shoulder cannon at the two sprites. Bob and Matrix jumped forward, ducking under the barrage of missiles and energy blasts that would have deleted them if they had been hit.

"Megabyte!" Matrix growled.

That virus had just hit a new low, using his father against his own children? Matrix could barely keep the rage at the virus from erupting inside of him.

"Glitch, energy shield!" Bob shouted.

Glitch projected an energy shield that blocked the incoming projectiles, giving the two sprites some much needed time to come up with a plan. Welman's exo-skeleton ceased firing once it realized that attacking them was useless with the energy shield up. Both sprites got back up as the robot pointed its cannon shoulder at the ceiling.

A blast of energy hit the ceiling, causing it to cave in. Bob had Glitch drop the energy shield so he and Matrix could get out of the way, running towards Welman to stop his body from attacking them. Matrix let out a way cry as he aimed his gun and fired.

"Matrix no!" Bob cried.

Luckily Matrix was only aiming at the shoulder cannon, the bullet knocking it off the robot's body. However it seemed to make things worse as Welman's body moved so fast Matrix could barely see it as it slapped his gun out his hand. The robot then grabbed Matrix by the throat, lifting him off the ground and slamming him into the wall.

"Matrix!" Bob ran to help but Welman's body tossed Matrix had him, knocking the Guardian down.

Matrix quickly rolled off, allowing Bob to sit up as the robot advanced on them.

"We need to get him out!" Matrix picked up his gun.

"But if we hit him…." Bob pointed out.

"I can, if I take out the power core." Matrix aimed his gun at the center of the robot.

"Matrix, wait!" Bob grabbed the gun, pushing it down. "Look!"

He pointed to something attach to the robot's chest.

"A Delete Command?" Matrix's eyes widened.

"If you shoot it, it goes off and we'll all be deleted, including Welman." Bob explained.

"Excellent deduction, Guardian." Megabyte said as a Vid-Window appeared in front of them, showing the smirking virus.

"You…" Matrix growled in anger.

"I thought for sure that your dear renegade friend would shoot and delete all of you." Megabyte laughed. "It would have been quite a sight to see."

"Oh, you want to be impressed? Wait till I get my hands on you, virus." Matrix held up a fist.

"Save your anger, boy, you're going to need it." Megabyte inspected his claws. "Right now I have you and Bob where I want you; I have the option of activating the Delete Command, destroying you all along with my pet."

"Not likely, Megabyte." Bob aimed at the ceiling. "Glitch, Particle Beam!"

Glitch fired an energy blasted the ceiling, causing a cave in between them and Welman, cutting him off from the other two sprites. When the dust cleared the sprite found themselves at another dead end.

"Great, we're cut off again." Matrix sighed. "This is really starting to give me a headache."

"I know, but it's the only thing I could think of without harming Welman." Bob replied. "Guess we need to find another way to reach the others."

"Don't count on it, Guardian." Another Vid-Window showing Megabyte appeared in front of the sprites.

"What do you want now?" Matrix growled.

"Just to tell you that if Welman can't delete than Dot and the others are next." Megabyte smirked.

"You send dad after Dot and you'll wish the Web deleted you!" Matrix aimed his gun at the window.

"By all means, shoot…boy." Megabyte laughed. "Easier for me if your little toy has a little less energy."

Matrix gritted his teeth but lowered his gun.

"Oh my, I was sure you would shoot." Megabyte looked surprised. "I guess this cycle is just full of surprises."

"All right, Megabyte, you made your intentions clear. You want revenge, just come out and fight us head to head." Bob stepped forward. "No need to play this game."

"But Bob, this makes it more exciting, the buildup of drama until the climax of the play." Megabyte grinned at Bob. "It'll be something to look forward to."

Megabyte closed the window leaving Bob and Matrix alone in the hall.

"What does he mean?" Matrix turned to Bob.

"I don't know but it sounds bad. Very bad."

Xxx

"Mouse has been gone too long." Dot whispered, as they came around another corner. "It was bad idea to split up."

"I know but we don't have a lot of options here." AndrAIa was at the front with her Trident out, ready for any virals that came their way.

"I know but I'd never forgive myself if something happened to her." Dot looked down at the ground.

Mouse had been one of her closest friends through the Virals Wars and had been there for her when she lost Bob, Enzo, and AndrAIa. If something bad had happened to her…

Her thoughts were cut off when she heard footsteps.

"It it…" Dot looked up hopefully.

"No it's-" AndrAIa was cut off as a green laser bolt flew past her head. "Virals!"

Viral Binomes walked down the hall with their laser staffs pointed at the two sprites and robots.

"We got to move!" AndrAIa turned to run but a door came down between her and the others.

"AndrAIa!" Dot shouted as the door closed, trapping AndrAIa with the Virals.

Xxx

AndrAIa turned and faced the virals with her Trident out. "Want a piece of me?"

"Ah, Matrix's dear game sprite." A Vid-Window showing Megabyte appeared behind the virals. "So good to see you again."

"Gee, why don't I feel the same?" AndrAIa glared hatefully at the virus.

"Now, now, that's no way for a young lady to behave…even a mere game sprite." Megabyte chuckled. "But I believe we have some unfinished business, if you be so kindly to allow my men to escort you."

"How about I just go by myself, just you and me." AndrAIa pointed her Trident at the infected binomes.

"No, I'm afraid that will not do." Megabyte shook his head. "Boys."

The virals aimed and fired their staffs at her and fired. AndrAIa fired blue daggers from her nails, taking out several viral binomes as she dashed towards them. Jumping through the air she swung her Trident and sliced through the laser staffs the virals used, knocking them into the wall.

"That the best you got?" AndrAIa smirked at the Vid-Window.

"Well if that didn't impress you…" Megabyte started.

"How about this?" AndrAIa spun when she heard Megabyte's voice behind her.

A metal cable wrapped around her Trident as one of the knocked out binomes changed into Megabyte. The virus smirked as he stood up, pulling the Trident out of the surprised AndrAIa's hands.

"Ah, I believe Matrix used this same weapon against me…" Megabyte looked over the Trident. "It was able to pierce my armor last time, I wonder if it will do the same." He tossed it back AndrAIa who caught it.

AndrAIa didn't bother to reply as she ran forward and thrust her Trident to stab Megabyte in the chest. However Megabyte raised his right hand and swung it and the claws actually broke the Trident's sharp end. AndrAIa gasped as stepped back, looking at her broken weapon.

"Oh dear, it seems your weapon is just as outdated as your lover." Megabyte laughed.

AndrAIa growled as she tried to slash Megabyte with her own claws but Megabyte easily backhanded her into the wall. She slid down onto the ground, groaning from the pain she felt from the impact. Megabyte stepped over her. She rolled away and jumped to her feet, not going to allow Megabyte the satisfaction of deleting her. She ran towards the virus who simply smirked, amused that she was going to try and fight him.

However AndrAIa fell to the ground and slid through his legs, jumping up and took off down the hall. Megabyte spun and fired two metal cables at her, one wrapping around her leg making her fall. Just as the other was about to hit her skin and infect her AndrAIa's nails extended into claws and she sliced the metal cable before it touched her. She slashed the one around her leg but Megabyte had taken the chance to catch up with her. AndrAIa looked up to see Megabyte spit his acid breath in her face, blinding her.

AndrAIa instinctively cried out as she covered her eyes and Megabyte took advantage of her distraction. His fist came down on her head and she fell over. Megabyte grinned; he had just captured the girl that was love of the older Matrix boy who defeated him before.

Xxx

Tom had no idea what he was supposed to find when he went through the gate but he received the shock of his life as his came out of the Digital Sea.

"The water doesn't fill the interior of this place." Tom noted his ship continued to rise up. "Amazing."

Looking up he could see floating land mass resembling the Floating Point Parks seen in Mainframe and a few other system. But there was no city, just a mass of floating rocks, a white fog softly flowing through the sector and…a sky?

"How can there be a sky inside a massive sphere floating underwater?" Tom gaped as he saw the sky. "It looks like a real system."

He lowered the ship onto a rocky platform large enough for it land and deployed the landing gear. Carefully he removed his helmet as he opened the cockpit's hatch and stood up. Looking around for a nanosecond he determined the environment was safe for him and he jumped onto the ground, taking his first step onto Lyoko.

"Dac, Scan." Dac displayed a reading the system. "This system….The entire system has greater energy levels than the Supercomputer…But where are the buildings? The people? There's nothing here to suggest that this place has anything capable of emitting this much power. I need to find that signal."

Dac's readings directed him down a rocky path that he walked down for nearly five nanoseconds before he saw a tower with a red aura. Dac detected a large amount of energy coming from the tower, enough power to run a small system.

"This is it, that tower is sending out the signal." Tom said as he stepped towards the tower.

As he took the second step something happened that made him turn completely still. In front of the tower appeared three walking pyramids with the same strange eye like icon on angles pointing outwards.

"What in the Net…" Tom trailed off as he stared at the creatures, determining if they were a threat or not.

It was the former as the middle Pyramid's front icon glowed red and fired a laser shot at him. The blast hit him in the shoulder but lucky for him the custom made web armor was he was wearing took most of the hit. Still Tom felt his skin burn a bit as the blast knocked him onto the ground and knew it was good idea not to be hit. He jumped up and took off running with the three Pyramids chasing after him, firing lasers.

Xxx

"How come XANA picks now of all times to launch an attack? We just got a break from Shadow and now he wants to screw with us some more?" Heather groaned as the elevator doors to the lab opened. "I really should have thought this over when I took this job."

"At least it's predictable. We go in, take out the monsters and generals, Aelita gets into tower, shuts it down and boom! We're back to normal." Trent replied.

Aelita walked over the computer and sat in the chair. "Just pray that's all we'll be doing this time, Trent." She looked over the superscan and found the tower. "It's in the Mountain Sector and there are monsters out but…"

"I hate buts." Gwen muttered.

"Three Pyramids moving away from the tower chasing…I'm not sure." Aelita looked to the others. "I've got an unidentified program moving away from the tower and there are two Krabs moving to head it off."

"Unidentified program?" LeShawna walked over to the chair and looked at the screen. "When you say unidentified…"

"That's it, the scans tell me something's there but that's all I can get. No life points, no weapon or special abilities detected. They know it's a some kind of digital program because of the energy levels." Aelita pointed to the moving icon. "The readings are consisted with a form of an advanced program but that's all I can see."

"And if those Pyramids are chasing it." Cody started.

"Maybe there's something XANA doesn't want us to see." Gwen finished.

"Well, let's go into Lyoko and disappoint him." Duncan smirked. "Who's up for that?"

"Sounds like my kind of party!" LeShawna smiled and headed for the elevator. "Anybody coming?"

"I'll set up the virtualization process." Cody walked over to the chair as Aelita stood up and headed for the elevator.

"Fine by us." Courtney shrugged as she walked into the elevator.

"Keep an eye on that program Noah and try to virtualize us as close as you can to it." Aelita said as the doors closed.

"Roger!" Cody saluted without looking at them.

"Transfer."

"Scanner."

"Virtualization!"

Xxx

Tom panted as he took cover behind a rock and peeked out from behind it. A laser shot whizzed past as his head as he moved back behind the rock. He peeked out and aimed Dac at the incoming Pyramids, shooting an energy blast that hit the middle Pyramid but he didn't know about the Eye and missed it. The Pyramid stopped for a nanosecond and shrugged off the attack before marching towards Tom's hiding place with the other two monsters.

"Spam!" Tom took running as the Pyramids blasted the rock. "I got to get back to my ship; this system is too dangerous for a single Guardian."

However his hopes of escaping were dashed as two Krabs landed on the path he needed to reach his ship. Tom gasped as they charged their lasers, preparing to delete him.

"Dac, Energy shield!"

Dac created an energy shield that blocked the two charged laser shots from the Krabs. However the Pyramids and the Krabs charged their next laser shots and the energy shield was broken when they fired. Tom jumped off the path, onto another rocky platform below and took off as fast as he could. The Pyramids and Krabs moved to pursue him but something stopped them.

"Going somewhere?" Gwen asked as she landed behind them with Trent and Heather.

The monsters turned to face the three Lyoko Warriors, determining whether or not to fight them. The decision only took a nanosecond as they charged their lasers and fired.

"Dac, system scan!" Dac beeped as it did as requested. "Energy levels matching the signal from the tower…then it's not a coincidence..." Tom's eyes narrowed. "This system, the signal sent lure me here, all of this is connected to Megabyte's new powers, I'm sure of it and I just walked into a trap!"

A Tarantula appeared in front of him, making him stop but he aimed Dac at the monster ready to fight. The Tarantula aimed its cannons at him, glowing brightly as they charged.

"Bring it!" Tom growled.

Before it could though, something flew through the air and impacted the Eye icon on the back of Tarantula's neck. It screamed as it was deleted in a blast of light, making Tom shield his eyes for a nanosecond.

"I got it!" A young female voice said behind the Guardian.

He looked behind him to see Izzy along with Noah land on the ground behind him.

"Hey, it's a blue skinned dude!" Izzy pointed at Tom. "Who has blue skin?"

"What in the Ne-" Tom was cut off as a blast of wind slammed into him and knocked him off the bridge.

"Oh no!" Noah ran to grab him but Tom was already out of reach.

"Dac, grapple!" Tom shouted.

Dac shot a grappling hook out that pierced a cliff in time and pulled Tom up.

"That was impressive." Sora said as he landed in front of Izzy and Noah. "I thought for sure he was a goner."

"Okay, what's going on here, Sora?" Noah leveled his guns on XANA's winged general.

"Can't say, I'll get in trouble for telling." Sora shrugged as he pulled out his wind blades. "Got to a long hard day's ahead of me so, sorry!" He fired a blast of wind.

Tom grunted as Dac pulled him up to the cliff and changed back into its original form.

"This is random, just what kind of a deletion trap have I stepped into?" Tom leaned against a boulder.

"Oh, trust me, this is only the beginning." A female voice came from behind him.

Tom spun around and pointed Dac at another sprite that was a girl with red hair, blue eyes, and dark clothing.

"Welcome to Lyoko, Guardian." Lilith smirked as she pulled out her bow.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything belonging to Code: Lyoko, Total Drama, or Reboot. Code Lyoko is Property of Moonscoop, Reboot is the property of Mainframe Entertainment and Total Drama is the property of Fresh TV.**

Xxx

Chapter 6

"Don't let it get free! Secure the forelegs!" The Guardian Captain shouted to his troops as they struggled to keep a large spider virus shackled while herding it into a mobile containment unit. They were in the middle of a ruined sector of a system that resembled a small village surrounded by a forest with a large tower in the center that was the Principal Office of the small system. "Keep out of the firing range of its venom!" That meant not to get in front of it; luckily the Guardians were using shock staves formed from their key tools to make the spider virus move forward towards the cage while a set of mechanized lengths of chain within kept on pulling it in closer.

"Almost…almost!" One of the guardians shout, jamming her staff into the spider's side when it tried to turn around so it could get a shot at them. "Don't let it turn around! Keep it facing forward! Don't give this thing a shot, men!"

The virus thrashed and spat acid out, trying to break its shackles but the Guardians kept jamming their staffs into it, shocking it and forcing it into the containment field.

"Now!" The captain shouted.

The containment field activated, trapping the virus as it shackles broke. The virus slammed into the energy shield, trying to break free but the containment field held.

"Whoa, that was close." One of the five Guardians sighed in relief. "I thought we'd never get it done."

"Perfect, now get some transportation so we can it back to the Supercomputer." The Captain said, not planning to give the virus a chance to escape.

"Yes sir." One of the Guardians hopped onto his zip-board and flew off to get their ship.

While the Guardians waited for the ship to arrive a tear appeared in a blast of light above them.

"What the Dell…" The Captain covered her eyes from the bright light before the tear stabilized itself into a portal but not any portal.

A portal to the Web.

A Web creature flew out of the portal, resembling a shark with a strange red eye icon on its face with no eyes. The portal vanished as the web creature flew towards the Guardians and the Containment Field.

"Stop it before it…" The Captain was too late as the Web Creature rammed into the containment field and shattered it.

Before the virus could escape the Web Creature slammed into, merging into the virus's body with a red light covering its body. The virus screamed as the web creature merged with it and thrashed around and slammed its head into the ground.

"Performing a scan." The captain held up his keytool and scanned the virus. "It's some kind of..viral upgrade!"

The spider virus was engulfed in a red light that was blinding for a few nanoseconds. Where the monstrous spider like virus stood before was now a tall woman with pale skin, silky black hair that was straight and well kept, and a long black sleeveless dress that fell to her feet. She almost looked like a normal sprite except there was one major difference on her near flawless face. Instead of one pair of eyes she had two more pairs of eyes on her forehead, all of them red with slits for pupils like a cat.

Her finger nails were long and sharp like claws with black nail polish on them. Her lips were red and when her mouth opened it showed very sharp fangs. On her head were eight long sharp horns sticking out of her hair like a crown.

The Guardians were speechless as they stared at the new virus who simply looked around calmly, taking in the sights of the ruined sector before staring at the Guardians with an amused expression. Her eyes morphed, showing the same eye like icon the web creature had on it before vanishing a nanosecond later.

"I am Arachne, the Weaver of Destruction, and my function is the infection of this system." She spoke in soft but powerful voice.

"Not this system, take her out!" The Captain shouted and his last four subordinates aimed their keytools and prepared to fire energy blasts at her.

However Arachne raised her hand and fired small white energy blasts. Each one hit the Viral Containment team and trapped them in a net made of energy strings.

"By the User!" The Captain screamed as he tried to break free of the net.

None of the Guardians were able to break free as Arachne slowly strolled towards the captain. Once she stopped in front of him she slowly knelt to his level.

"Now who's the one trapped, little fly?" She asked amused by the angry look the captain gave her.

"This isn't over, one of my men will return with a full team to stop you, virus." The captain growled at her.

"I have no doubt about that, in fact I am hoping for it." Arachne raised her hands and held the captain by his shoulder. "I am a little hungry and could use a little refreshment."

Before the Captain or any of the Guardians could even think of a reply Arachne bit down on the Captain's neck, her fangs piercing his skin. The Captain let out a howl of agony as Arachne held him down, desperately trying fight her off. Red energy began traveling out of the small punctures Arachne's fangs left in the Captain's neck and traveled down to his icon. The Captain suddenly stopped fighting as his eyes were replaced with the red Eye of XANA, his face becoming emotionless and blank.

"That was a terrific meal." Arachne wiped her mouth as she stood up. "A little bit of energy and a new servant. Now, you will help me reach the Principal Office so I can take control of this system."

"Yes, Mistress." The Captain bowed his head.

"But before we do that." Arachne glanced over at the other trapped Guardians.

Screams were heard all over the sector.

Xxx

Mouse groaned as she opened her eyes and her vision slowly returned. She sat up and found herself in a cell with a firewall up to keep her trapped. She was in the Detention level but obviously Megabyte was now in control because of the number of viral and zombie binomes guarding the place.

"Spam it…" She looked down at herself and found all her weapons had been taken.

Standing up she walked over the firewall and looked around.

"Hey, I don't suppose any of you boys could get me something around here. I have a mighty thirst for some energy." Mouse said, hoping to gain someone's attention.

"I wouldn't worry about that now, my young lady." Herr Doctor turned and faced her. "His Mightyness has some very special plans for you."

"Oh really, well I always did feel like a special little girl. So where is he?" Mouse asked.

"Hunting." The Doctor grinned at the scowl on Mouse's face. "You got caught and now you wait for the rest."

"And what happens when we're all caught?" Mouse's fists curled up.

"Oh, I have no idea yet but it will be a sight to see." The Doctor chuckled. "Herr Megabyte has got special plans for you."

Xxx

Matrix was starting to lose his patience. Every time it looked they were getting close to meeting up with the others they were cut off by more of Megabyte's traps while he was free to inflict more grief on the others.

"Okay, we take this corner and we'll find the elevator." Bob pointed up ahead at a corner to the left.

"How do we know Megabyte hasn't shut down the elevators?" Matrix asked.

"We don't but even if the elevator is out we can still climb up the shaft to the level the others are on." Bob explained as they walked around the corner and saw the elevator.

"Glitch, connect." Bob held Glitch up to the elevator console. "The power's out for the elevator too. We'll have to go up the old fashioned way."

"On it." Matrix got ready to open the door with his strength but someone had other plans.

As it it was magic the elevator doors opened on their own and the lights in the elevator came on.

"O…kay." Bob said. "I didn't see that coming."

"Guess it'd be rude to turn down the invite." Matrix shrugged as he walked.

Bob stepped forward to get into the elevator but a Vid-Window appeared in front of him as the doors closed.

"Bob!" Matrix shouted before the doors closed completely.

The elevator then started traveling to the upper level.

"Oh dear, Bob, it looks like you are now all alone now." Megabyte chuckled. "I hope you have a flash light down in those dark halls, Guardian."

"I got it covered, Megabyte." Bob narrowed his eyes. "Thanks for the concern but I'll catch up with Matrix in a few nanoseconds."

"By all means go ahead and try, Bob." Megabyte examined his claws. "In the meantime I have a guest to entertain."

The Window disappeared leaving Bob alone as he activated a fusion cutter to burn a hole through the doors.

Xxx

Matrix banged his fists on the elevator doors, furious that he fell into an obvious trap. The sound of a Vid Window appeared behind him and the chuckling sound of a much hated virus made him spin around.

"You know you really should log off, all that anger is not healthy." Megabyte shook his head. "I can't imagine how that game sprite deals with it."

"All right, virus. No more games! You want revenge, then come out and face me!" Matrix growled. "Let's settle this."

"I agree, boy and here's something to motivate you." Megabyte stepped out of the way to show him…

"ANDRAIA!" Matrix cried. "ENZO!"

AndrAIa was hanging from the ceiling with metal cable holding her hands above her head while her feet just barely touched the ground. Enzo was on the ground with viral binomes guarding him.

"MATRIX HELP!" Enzo cried.

"Oh, does this belong to you?" Megabyte asked, feigning surprise. "I caught her wandering the halls and offered her help. Of course my hospitality was returned with a surprising amount of hostility."

"GET AWAY FROM HER!" Matrix roared.

"Oh my, I thought you'd be happy see her again." Megabyte gasped. "But lucky for you I am in a giving mood. Head to the Read Only Room and we'll…negotiate their release."

Megabyte laughed as the Vid Window vanished leaving an infuriated Matrix. When the elevator stopped he didn't bother to wait for the doors to open. With one good fist he smashed the doors down and ran down the hall at full speed to the Read Only Room.

Xxx

Of all the weird and crazy things Tom had seen in his left the things that were happening this cycle were among the craziest things he had ever seen. Finding himself in a new level of cyberspace, locating a system inside a gigantic metal sphere that floated underwater, and now finding a whole bunch of weird sprites out to delete him. That's the only way to sum up his cycle in just a few sentences. Now he was staring down a young red haired sprite who had a bow in her hands.

"All right, I am Guardian 543, state your name and function." Tom said, keeping himself calm and composed.

"Well, my name is Lilith and my function…" An arrow made of energy appeared in her hand as she prepared to fire. "Is this."

She fired her arrow but Tom quickly jumped out of the way, aiming his keytool at Lilith and firing his own energy blast. But Lilith simply created a portal in front of that swallowed the energy blast. Then it was sent shooting out of another portal, aimed at Tom. He launched himself back, flipping over in mid leap and landing on his feet.

"Dac, Link-Blade!" Tom cried, and suddenly a blade formed on Dac and shot at Lilith, attached to a line which seemed to endlessly extend from the key tool. Lilith managed to dodge by simply leaning to the right, and then the line retracted in the blink of an eye. Tom shot out with it again, and the blade dug high into one of the smaller floating platforms higher up. He was pulled into the air as Lilith aimed her bow and fired an arrow at him. The Guardian had the blade release from the platform above and aimed a kick at Lilith as he began a free fall towards her.

Lilith however simply vanished as Tom kicked his leg at her. Tom landed on the ground and looked around for where Lilith could have gone before a leg kicked his legs out from under him and he fell to the ground on his back. Grunting he looked up to see an arrow made of energy pointed between his eyes.

"Check and mate, Guardian." Lilith smirked as she prepared to fire her arrow and delete him.

"Hey!" Heather suddenly appeared in front of Lilith and kicked her in the chest, knocking the general back. "How about a real fight?"

Lilith quickly fired her energy arrow but Heather cart wheeled out the way and fire her shuriken launchers in retaliation. Tom moved out of the crossfire and watched as more fighters entered the area to help Heather. Gwen was ready when Lilith dodged out of the way of Trent shooting one of his lightning spells at her using his guitar. The spell caster swung her scythe, aiming to bisect Lilith up the middle; the general cart wheeled out of the way and then used her bow as a defensive tool against Duncan as he charged her and tried to land in a fatal blow.

But then the Generals moved in. Ryder was moving in to attack Duncan from behind, but Bridgette dove down with her board and clipped him in the shoulder, drawing his attention as she dodged multiple lightning attacks from him. Sora, having moved his fight with Izzy and Noah to the current scene, was dodging multiple shots from the boy genius while Izzy tried to scale any rocks tall enough so she could leap at Sora to drag him down. Jinx came to Lilith's relief and almost managed to petrify Duncan, but Courtney intervened in a similar fashion with her battle staff and struck Jinx across the face with a surprise attack.

Yuki was creating ice structures, altering the terrain of the battlefield and nearly consuming some of the fighters. Gwen's fire aura managed to keep the ice from covering them, so Yuki switched tactics and moved in with a pair of swords formed from ice.

"Izzy! A little help please?!" Gwen shouted as she tried to maintain trading blows with Lilith and melting away Yuki's ice.

"Allow me!" Noah had changed one of his hands into a blade and caught Yuki's ice swords at the last second before it could stab into Gwen. He began to trade blows with Yuki, but she mostly had him on the defensive with an aggressive tactic consisting of her pushing him back with multiple stabs and slices from her weapons while he clumsily parried. His other hand, a blaster, attempted to shoot Yuki at close range with little success.

"Impressive, isn't it?" A voice asked from behind Tom.

He spun around to see Blade grinning down on him. The Guardian gaped at the size of the giant in front of him along with his shark like teeth and white eyes.

"Try not to move so much and I promise I'll try not to enjoy it so much." Blade smirked as he raised his giant fist.

"Plasma Beam!" A beam of light slammed into Blade's chest and sent him flying into the stone wall.

Tom looked up to see a pink haired girl with bright wings out of her back allowing her to fly land on the ground in front of Blade.

"Sorry Blade, but I'm afraid your mission has failed. The tower's deactivated now and there's no way you and the others harming whoever this person is." Aelita glanced at Tom who held his keytool in self defense. "Now go back to XANA and tell him that he should be ready for us when we drop in on his front door step."

Blade growled but a portal appeared behind him.

"This isn't over, little girl." Blade pointed his finger at her.

He stepped into the portal and vanished. The rest of the generals seemed to understand what was happening as a portal appeared in the middle of the battlefield. They quickly jumped into it and vanished before the Warriors could do anything.

"Well, that was satisfying." Duncan smirked as he sheathed his sword. "Another win for us and the bad guys are running."

Tom kept his keytool up as the other Lyoko Warriors gathered around Aelita and looked at their mystery guest.

"So this is the new guy?" Duncan looked at him. "Well, he's a lot different from the rest of the digital creeps we've run into."

"Duncan!" Courtney lightly whacked him on the head. "Don't be rude. He was almost killed by those guys."

"Doesn't mean he's a good guy." Duncan shrugged.

"But seeing as how he was being attacked by the generals he's obviously not a friend of XANA." Trent pointed out.

Aelita carefully stepped forward towards the stranger who aimed his keytool at her. Everyone held out their weapons just in case he tried to attack her.

"It's okay; we're not going to hurt you. My name is Aelita." Aelita held her hands up to show she was not armed. "What's your name?"

Tom looked at her carefully, she looked almost harmless but he remembered how she took out that giant who tried to attack him.

"I am Guardian 543." He slowly lowered his keytool. "What's your function?"

The Lyoko Warriors looked at each other, having no idea what he was talking about. Aelita herself had no idea what he was talking about but maybe she could learn more if she replied with an answer he'd understand.

"I am Lyoko's Guardian." Aelita replied and gestured to her friends. "These are my friends, they help my protect Lyoko."

"Hi!" Izzy waved cheerfully at him before Noah pulled her arm down.

"Don't spook him!" Noah whispered.

"Lyoko? Is that the name of the system we are in?" Tom asked.

"Yes." Aelita nodded. "Who are you? Where do you come from"

Tom knew he should not lower his keytool but he had a feeling he could trust these strangers. "Tom. My name is Tom. My format: Guardian. To Mend and Defend. I come from the Net."

"…pretending to know what that means," Duncan muttered.

"Is the Net a system?" Aelita tried to understand the terminology used by this so called Guardian. "And are Guardians a form of…law enforcement?"

"You don't know what the Net is?" Tom sounded skeptical.

"Lyoko is very…isolated," Aelita explained. "You're the first person from another system to visit."

"Well…the Net is a level of cyberspace," Tom said. "And the Guardians are charged with the protection of the net from threats such as viruses."

"…this guy's an anti-virus program?" Noah raised an eyebrow. "…if only all of them had a fancy toy like that," He nodded to Dac.

"This is Dac, my key tool. A key tool is a Guardian's main form of weapon and has a use for…well…many things." Tom said as he showed Dac to them.

"It doesn't look all that impressive," Duncan said.

"Oh really? Dac, sword." Suddenly the key tool floated off of his arm, and a blade of energy came from it as it formed into a sort of hilt. "Dac, anti-viral blaster."

Now Dac was a rifle sized weapon which had a red laser aiming module attached to the underside of the barrel. Noah swallowed as he realized that the dot rested between his eyes.

"Dac, shield." Dac became a circular shield mounted on Tom's arm. "Dac, grappler."

Dac returned to normal, but shot a claw tipped cable out. It was like the Blade-Link he had used earlier except more suitable to grabbing rather than stabbing or slicing. It attached to one of the mountain sector's trees. He was swung up onto one of the branches and landed expertly. "Is that enough to impress you?"

"….yep!" Duncan nodded quickly.

"That's impressive." Aelita nodded, who was impressed along with everybody at Tom's display of Dac's abilities. "And every Guardian has a keytool?"

"Not everyone. Keytools choose their owners, few are chosen." Tom replied. "What about you? Last I checked sprites aren't capable of having powers like yours."

"Sprites?" Gwen asked.

"People, like you." Tom had a little trouble understanding that these people seemed unaware of the Net.

"Cody, could you scan this guys since he stopped moving?" Noah asked, wanting to know what was going on.

"_On it._" The voice that came out of nowhere made Tom jump. "_. He's definitely an anti-virus program, an advanced one. Has to be made by an expert._"

"Who was that?" Tom asked, catching his breath.

"Cody, he's um…the one who operates the system." Aelita sighed. "This place, Lyoko, is created by a supercomputer that Cody manages and operates."

"Wait a nano…." Tom held up a hand when he heard Aelita's explanation.

Everyone saw his face became a look awe, astonishment, and a little bit of horror. "Are you trying to tell me that this Cody is….a _User_?"


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything belonging to Code: Lyoko, Total Drama, or Reboot. Code Lyoko is Property of Moonscoop, Reboot is the property of Mainframe Entertainment and Total Drama is the property of Fresh TV.**

Xxx

Chapter 7

STOMP!

STOMP!

STOMP!

The doors to the Read Only Room were knocked off their inches by a single kick from Matrix's boot.

"MEGABYTE!"

"Matrix!" Enzo cried, seeing his 'older brother' smash the doors down.

Matrix's mechanical eye glowed red as he pulled his gun out and leveled it on the virals holding Enzo hostage. He looked to see AndrAIa hanging over the vid window in the center of the room and Megabyte standing next to her.

"Ah, the guest of honor has arrived." Megabyte said. "Welcome to-"

Matrix immediately raised his gun and released it, allowing it to float before him. "Gun, command line: full delete!"

The weapon immediately opened fire. The virals around Megabyte cried out as they were struck by bolts of energy which immediately deleted them. Megabyte nimbly dove aside and knelt to avoid more fire as the gun accurately targeted all but the two hostages.

Matrix meanwhile had ducked around the cross fire and was making a bee line for his target. Megabyte looked up and smirked. "Round two, old boy?" He stood up…

THUD! Matrix, still running slammed one fist into Megabyte's face. The blow was hard enough to knock the virus back.

"Stow it, Megabreath." Matrix said venomously, calling Gun back to his hand and placing it on his leg where it belonged. "I'll deal with you _again_in a nanosecond."

He then rushed over to AndrAIa and Enzo, the latter already in the process of releasing the former. "Are you two alright?"

"Yeah, nothing seeing Megabreath get deleted won't fix," Enzo replied as they managed to get AndrAIa down and eased her onto her back.

"Keep an eye on her, I'll-" Suddenly AndrAIa's whole image shimmered, and Megabyte was smirking up at him. "…oh."

Megabyte grabbed Matrix by the throat and easily tossed him across the room before flipping up onto his feet. The Alias which Matrix had struck dissolved into nothing, and the Trojan horse virus faced his prey as he slowly got up. Megabyte held up Gun. "First rule of the hunt: always set a trap to lure your prey in." He tossed Gun out of the room. "And an unwritten addition is to disarm them."

"Now, shall we continue-" This time Megabyte dodged out of the way of Matrix's first attack, a powerful haymaker. The virus then caught the roundhouse kick Matrix swung at him, and then threw the renegade into the wall next to them. Matrix caught himself as he fell and managed to slam one knee into Megabyte's midsection. Even the virus had to give Matrix credit for his strength, Megabyte felt that one. The virus backed up a step as Matrix rolled away and got up.

"Very good, you haven't gotten rusty," Megabyte nodded. "Have you been using the CPU's as target practice?"

"They're still a lot tougher than your goons in peace time," Matrix replied before rushing forward to meet Megabyte. The Virus tried to catch him with a kick to the chest, but Matrix suddenly leaned back and slid clear under the raised leg, kicking Megabyte's standing leg out from under him and sliding clear as the virus fell. They both got up at once and spun to face their target.

Enzo cheered for Matrix as he and Megabyte exchanged devastating blows. "Go Matrix!"

After several moments Megabyte's claws extended and sliced up at Matrix's face. The renegade leaned back to avoid then and then as he leaned back up he swung his right leg up and slammed his knee into Megabyte's rib section again. Then he hit him with a right hook across the face. The Virus caught his third blow and punched Matrix so hard in the chest that he flew back into a wall and left a dent.

"I seem to recall your blows being a little stronger last time though," Megabyte said. "Come now Matrix, do try and put up a fight."

Matrix slowly climbed to his feet. "You think I've gone soft? Come on virus, I barely felt that last one."

Megabyte sighed. "If only Bob fought like this, I'd have had such a time for all of those old fights we had." He rolled his shoulders. "Oh well, this will have to do-"

Matrix dashed forward and tackled Megabyte around the middle, knocking the virus back. Megabyte slammed both hands down onto the renegade's back, but Matrix did not allow himself to loosen his grip. Instead he tightened it and began to pull back, slowly straightening up and lifting Megabyte off of his feet with a loud groan of strain. Then he let himself fall back, slamming Megabyte face first into the floor. Both of them then collapsed, and Matrix slowly sat up while gasping for breath.

Megabyte's arm came up, hand clenched into a fist. Matrix rolled aside in time as the virus slammed his hand down and made a hole which was slightly smaller than the one which his head had created. Both fighters rushed to their feet, Megabyte realigning his jaw. "Well now that was new. Ineffective, but new."

"Sure looked like it-" Matrix swung another punch. "Hurt!"

Megabyte leaned back to avoid the first to strikes, but then caught Matrix by clothes lining him with one arm when he tried to rush him for a tackle again. Matrix coughed a bit, and then swung one arm out as Megabyte raised a foot to stomp down on him. He hit the back of Megabyte's other leg's knee and made the virus stumble a bit to regain his balance. He took this chance to get up and grab Megabyte by the head, pulling him into a head lock and forcing him down towards the floor.

"You can try and fight all you want, virus but in the end Mainframe will always endure!" Matrix shouted as he held Megabyte down. "No matter what scheme you cook up we'll always win! Face it, Megabyte, you've lost!"

"No, boy, you have lost." Megabyte replied.

Megabyte then launched them up towards the ceiling. Matrix grunted as his back was slammed into the ceiling, forcing him to release Megabyte who dropped to the floor below and landed on his feet. Matrix fell to the ground a nanosecond later, barely landing on his feet.

"After all, boy, shouldn't you still be wondering what happened to your pet game sprite after all this time?" Megabyte stood up straight.

"What have you done with her?" Matrix growled.

"Oh, I simply remembered how Mainframers stick together and decided to use that against you all." Megabyte chuckled. "Perhaps if you had truly won the war, things would be a little different."

"TELL ME WHAT YOU'VE DONE!" Matrix roared as he charged forward.

His feet left cracks in the floor with each stomp as he prepared to rip the virus apart. But Megabyte was ready and in his rage he forgot that Megabyte now had acid like breath that he used to temporarily blind Bob in their last fight. He spat it in Matrix's face as he raised his fists, smirking at the cry the renegade let out as he stepped back and covered his face. Megabyte released a tendril that wrapped Matrix's neck, chocking the life out of him as Megabyte's free fist slammed into his chest.

Matrix let out a breath of air as Megabyte hammered his chest repeatedly. Megabyte then lifted him up and slammed him into the ground. Matrix had spent most of his life fighting, against Megabyte and Hexadecimal, and when he was in the games he fought viruses and users enduring so much pain that he was able to shrug off any physical blow. But when Megabyte slammed him into the floor he let out a scream showing that he was badly hurt.

"Matrix!" Enzo cried and ran to attack Megabyte from behind.

But as he jumped into the air Megabyte spun around so fast he was almost like a blue blur and grabbed the little sprite by the neck.

"I shouldn't be surprised by this but as I warned your older self some time ago do not provoke me as it is by my will alone that you survive." Megabyte held Enzo close to his face, showing the boy his fangs.

"Let…him…go…" Megabyte looked down and saw Matrix grab his foot.

"As you wish." Megabyte tossed Enzo into the wall and the boy was knocked out.

Matrix gripped Megabyte's foot but the virus simply kicked him in the face and knocked him a few feet away.

"And when the prey is helpless, the predator moves into the deliver the finishing blow." Megabyte casually strolled to the down renegade.

Xxx

Aelita and the others had their hands full during the war being waged in Mainframe. The moment he asked if Cody was a User he seemed to be shaking in fear and awe.

"A…User?"

"The beings who live beyond cyberspace," Tom explained. "The ones who created the Net and everyone who exists inside of it, and they also created viruses that cause destruction in the Net and drop game cubes into our systems that nullifies anyone any sprite or binome if they win!"

"…game cube?" Duncan asked.

"Binome?" Heather asked.

"Nullified?" Bridgette asked.

"Stop with the questions and let the guy explain!" Gwen said to the group. "Look…Tom, if that's your definition then yes, Cody is a user…and so are the rest of us."

Tom could not be more horrified or amazed at that simple sentence. He was standing in the presence of…Users? But they seemed so much like ordinary-if not super powered sprites! Could this be an example of their supposed god like powers?

"As for game cubes…I really don't know what you're talking about," Gwen added. "Or what being 'nullified' means."

Tom could barely comprehend the fact that he was talking to a group of Users that seemed to not understand what he was talking about.

"A game cube is what we call games that come down in the form of a huge energy cube that lands on almost any sector of a system except for the Principal Office. When it lands anyone it lands on becomes trapped in the game and cannot leave until the game ends. If we win the game leaves but if the User wins…" Tom scowled. "The people inside are 'nullified' meaning they are reduced to small slug like creatures called Nulls."

He held up his key tool and pointed it at the stunned Lyoko Warriors.

"Tell me; if you are Users than why do you send these games into our cities to make us play them? Every time you win you damage a system and the people inside are lost, damaging the system and risking a system crash! Why do you create Viruses to corrupt and damage the Net that you created? If you are really are Users you should know all of this!"

The Lyoko Warriors, including the ones in the lab were silent with shock, awe, and even a little terror as Tom explained what the games were. The smart ones like Cody and Noah thought that he was referring to games that are downloaded onto their computers so they could play them.

"Tom…" Aelita held up her hands again. "I know you might find it hard to believe…but we had no idea that you or your people even existed."

Tom looked shocked from what Aelita said. They were Users and they had no idea that his people existed? That was impossible!

"The games were designed for entertainment, simply to have fun or to improve hand eye coordination. We never knew that we were harming people by playing these games." Aelita explained, trying to sound as convincing as possible.

This man seemed genuinely angry about the games and from what he said he had a right to be angry at them. If it was true, than everyone in the real world were unknowingly massacring thousands, maybe even billions of people.

"The truth is that we are the only ones who can enter cyberspace and even then we never knew of anything beyond the Digital Sea even though I knew that it was only a small part of cyberspace." Aelita explained. "The others don't know of this place or the fact that people actually exist inside cyberspace. They have no way knowing that you exist or the grief they cause when they download games or create viruses."

"Ok…I suddenly have the urge to never download another game onto my laptop," Noah admitted. "I win at those things all the time and…well I never thought that every time I won I'd be turning a whole bunch of people in cyberspace into slugs."

"…so the Users, the almighty and feared beings beyond cyberspace were playing around…and didn't even know who they were hurting as a result," Tom let out a breath…and then began to actually laugh. "Oh well isn't that perfect?! It was all one big misunderstanding then?! Countless binomes and sprites transformed, and it was all because the Users were entertaining themselves!" His eyes settled back on Aelita. "What about the viruses?"

"I don't know. Many people create viruses for various reasons, using them for personal gain against someone who they have a quarrel with." Aelita replied.

"Oh, just someone they have a quarrel with? What about Daemon? That virus infected the entire Net and then ordered it to self destruct! Who would create a virus to wipe out the entire Net?" Tom pointed Dac at Aelita. "People are dying because you say no User knew that they existed? How do I know you're telling the truth? How can I believe anything you say?"

"…You shouldn't." Aelita lowered her hands and stepped forward towards him.

"Aelita." Bridgette stepped up behind her but Tom aimed Dac at her.

"It's all right, Bridgette." Aelita replied as stopped in front of Tom. "You don't have a reason to believe anything I say. If what you say is true than a grave mistake has been made and I wouldn't blame you for being angry with any of us. But I must warn you, even if you have no reason to trust me you must believe me when I say that no one would have condoned what has happened if they knew you existed. And you must know why this place exists."

Tom leveled his eyes on her.

"No one thought that a User or a Human, that's what we call ourselves could enter cyberspace, but my parents did it. They created the Supercomputer that allows this place to exist, and they theorized that that a whole universe existed in cyberspace, no one believed them but they were right. We can come and go as we please here but this is the first time we've someone who actually exists in cyberspace. And the reason we're here is because there's a deadly force out there that threatens our world." Aelita explained. "It feels nothing and seeks domination over cyberspace and the User world. Those people who attacked you, they are the generals of a dangerous entity that will destroy everything, including your people if it can access your world. It knows you're here, that's why its generals attacked you. If it gains access to your world and your people are in greater danger than from the games or the viruses."

Aelita gestured to the mountains surrounding them.

"We are here to stop this menace before it destroys everything here and in the User world." Aelita sighed. "But like I said you don't have to believe whatever I say. If you think we're the enemy than you can try and attack us but even if you defeat us all none of us here will die. We'll simply return to the outside world because even if we are destroyed here our minds and bodies return to our world and we'll simply come back after a certain amount of time."

"…I need to report this to the Guardians," Tom decided after a moment, lowering Dac. "Unfortunately we can't judge an entire world, and even if we could you state that all of the Users are ignorant of the suffering their games cause. But this entity you speak of and its generals must be dealt with. Besides, there's a chance that this force has something to do with why I am here to begin with."

"What do you mean by that?" Trent asked, relieved that Tom lowered his keytool.

Everyone had been ready if he tried to attack Aelita and were relieved when he decided not to attack her.

"I came here by accident; I was originally on an expedition in the Web because a virus named Megabyte had received an upgrade that he used to infiltrate a system called Mainframe. I found this giant structure floating in a data storm that led me into what you call the Digital Sea. I then picked up a signal that led me here." Tom pointed to the tower. "It came from that tower."

"XANA." Aelita frowned.

"Who?" Tom asked.

"I think we have a few stories to exchange." Noah spoke up.

"And I know where to start." Aelita gestured to the tower. "It'll be easier inside."

All thought feeling a little hesitant Tom followed Aelita to the tower and watched as Aelita put a hand on the wall and was surprised when her hand went through the wall in a flash of light.

"It's all right, you can enter." Aelita said as she went inside.

Tom slowly stepped forward, reaching with his hand out onto the wall and watched as it passed through the wall like Aelita did. Walking forward he found himself on the inside of the tower, on a floating platform with a smooth blue wall with data screens. Looking down on the platform he saw the same icon on the strange creatures and the generals.

"Just what in the Net is this?" Tom asked Aelita. "This is the same icon I saw on those web creatures."

"This is one of many towers that hold data on anything stored here in Lyoko. I think this is the perfect place to exchange stories." Aelita sat in the center of the platform. "Can you see if your key tool can access the tower?"

"I can try." Tom nodded. "Dac, link."

The keytool blinked and attempted to set up data link with the tower.

"Cody, is it working?" Aelita asked.

"_It's working, that thing's attempting to set up a data link with the tower. I'm working to help on my end._" Cody replied.

"What do are you trying to do?" Tom asked.

"We need to learn about as much as each other as we can. If it's not so much trouble could you use that link to send everything about the Net and we'll tell you about this place and the User World." Aelita explained.

Tom thought it over and agreed. He didn't have to give away anything important, just basic information on the Net and the situation in Mainframe. Not to mention he could learn everything about the User World, something that no sprite had ever done before.

"All right. Dac, upload." Tom said and his keytool began sending all needed information into the tower for the Users to see.

Xxx

"Spam! Spam! Spam! Spam!" Dot banged her fists into the wall.

Hack and Slash hung back, both of them afraid that she might turn her anger on them often like Megabyte had done when they had done something to anger him.

"Mouse, AndrAIa, I lost them both!" Dot knelt down to the ground, hands over her face as she fought to keep the grief inside of her.

Megabyte had taken them from her, just as he had taken her home, her friends, her family, leaving her alone and running around in the dark. And Bob…he made her turn her back on Bob again. She couldn't stand it anymore!

"Boys…" She stood up.

"Yes Dot!" Both robots replied, standing straight.

"I need you to find Bob and Matrix." Dot turned to face them.

Both robots looked at each other, surprise written across their faces.

"But Dot…" Slash started. "Phong told us to look after you."

"Yeah, look after you!" Hack nodded.

"I know but now I have a job for you two." Dot held up her planner and tapped a few commands. "Megabyte! I know you can hear me."

Xxx

Megabyte had just stepped back into the War Room when he heard Dot's voice over the speakers.

"_I know you're watching everyone in the Principal Office and you've probably deleted Mouse and AndrAIa by now. I hope I'm wrong but if I am right than their deaths are my responsibility as the of this system. And as my responsibility to the people of Mainframe, I offer to surrender myself._"

Megabyte raised an eyebrow as he listened to Dot's voice with interest.

"_In exchange for my surrender you will release my brother and anyone you have captured. Do that…and I'll lead you to the Gateway Command._"

Megabyte narrowed his eyes as he figured out what Dot was after and he had to admit it was clever.

"_Promise to leave Mainframe and never come back and I'll allow you to use the Gateway Command to leave this place and be free. To go ahead and infect any other system you want, even the Supercomputer. _" Dot continued.

Megabyte tapped the communications console and a Vid-Window showing Dot appeared.

"Well, well, Miss Matrix, that's quite the offer you have made. I am sorely tempted to accept that offer, even though I know your friends would object."

"_They would but I am still the of Mainframe and you are a Virus, in my System. It's my job to get you out of my system as soon as possible._"

"Even allowing me to freely roam the Net?" Megabyte laughed.

Dot hesitated but nodded. "_Yes, even that._"

"Well, far be it for me to turn such a generous offer. And to reassure you that none of your friends have been deleted." Megabyte tapped another switch and a Vid-Window appeared in front Dot.

She gasped as she saw Matrix, AndrAIa, and Mouse locked up in the Detention center.

"I wasn't going to delete them yet; I wanted their pain to be long and enduring." Megabyte smirked. "But with your offer…I can prolong the suffering if only to see if you'll hold your end of the deal."

"_You have my word and unlike you virus I always keep it. Where's Enzo?_" Dot looked and saw her younger brother was not with them.

"Oh, I gave him his own room to play in. He was a little loud." Megabyte waved his hand in a dismissive manner.

"_Will he be released as well?_"

"Oh yes," Megabyte nodded. "He will be escorted to the entrance along with the others, I promise."

"_I'll believe that when I see it._" Dot ended the conversation by closing the window.

"Things just keep getting interesting." Megabyte chuckled and tapped the communications switch again. "Lieutenant, escort the prisoners to the entrance and send a team to meet Miss Matrix who's on her way here. She is not to be harmed and if someone levels their weapons on her without a good reason they will be deleted."

"Yes sir." Chauncy saluted.

Megabyte closed the window and stared at the windows showing Mainframe. He was silent for a moment before he leaned back and started to laugh. Dot, along with the rest of his enemies had no idea what they were up against. If only they knew, just how much everything was going to change.

"I'll be waiting, Miss Matrix, and I have a few surprises left that I can't wait to show you." Megabyte whispered as he watched Dot walk towards the War Room.

Xxx

"You sure it was a good idea to leave Aelita alone with him?" LeShawna asked as the others stepped out of the elevator.

While Aelita and Tom were in the tower she asked Cody to devirtualize the others and have them wait back in the lab.

"I don't like the idea either but she thinks she knows what she's doing." Gwen replied as she walked over the computer. "Any idea what's going on?"

"So far, he was uploading data into the tower for Aelita to see. Her life points are normal so she's not in any real danger." Cody replied. "Still, today's full of surprises huh?"

"You mean beside the fact that we just learned that there's a whole civilization on the Internet and that every time I won one of the tons of games I have on my laptop that I was committing a massacre?" Noah sourly replied.

Everyone looked at each other with the same expression of guilt on Noah's face. The fact that there were actually people living in cyberspace was one thing, but the idea that they were suffering because of the computer games was a real shock. Not all of them used computers a whole lot, Duncan spent too much time either committing a little vandalism or spending time in juvy, Courtney and Heather were too busy with their jobs as class president, Bridgette preferred to spend her time on the beach, Geoff and DJ preferred outdoor activities, Gwen only used her computer for research or her blog show, LeShawna spent most of her time at the community center, Trent preferred to practice his guitar, Izzy never had the patience to sit down in front of a computer, but Cody along with Noah had a laptop that he spent time playing games on when he wasn't doing anything important. But there millions of people out there downloading games onto their computers right now, destroying digital people without even realizing it.

"This is beyond almost any discovering we've made since we started." Bridgette looked down. "I wonder what would happen if people actually knew…"

"If they'd believe it in the first place." Heather pointed out. "I'm all for a few games myself but I never thought I was killing people! This almost sounds crazier than when you guys explained this whole Lyoko thing!"

"I know…" Gwen looked away. "I saw the way he looked. Users are to them what Gods are to us. But we never knew…"

Everyone's attention was diverted when they heard a beeping sound from the computer. They turned to see Aelita appear on the screen.

"Aelita, how's it going?" Geoff asked.

"Bad, Geoff. Really, really, bad." Aelita replied, her face looking grim.


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything belonging to Code: Lyoko, Total Drama, or Reboot. Code Lyoko is Property of Moonscoop, Reboot is the property of Mainframe Entertainment and Total Drama is the property of Fresh TV.**

Xxx

Chapter 8

Bob climbed up the elevator shaft to the level he wanted and used one hand to hold onto the cables while he pointed Glitch at the doors.

"Glitch, energy blast!" Glitch turned into a small blaster and fired an energy blast the knocked the doors down.

Bob swung himself forward and jumped into the hull. He took off running to reach the War Room before Dot did, knowing that she would do anything to save her friends.

'Come on, Dot, don't do anything stupid.' Bob thought as he turned a corner…

BUMP!

Only to run into Hack and Slash who were moving at the same speed.

"BOB!" Both robots exclaimed and quickly helped the poor Guardian to his feet.

"Oh man! I knew we'd find you!" Hack said happily.

"Me too! It's good to see you!" Slash nodded.

"Very good."

"Yes very good."

"Boys!" Bob cut them off. "Do you know where Dot is?"

"Oh yes, we know where Dot went." Hack nodded.

"Oh yes, watched her leave with our own two eyes!" Slash held up two fingers.

"Where is she?" Bob quickly said before they changed the subject.

"Oh, she told us to give you something." Slash replied.

"Oh yeah, Slash has got it." Hack pointed to Slash.

"I thought you had it." Slash looked at Hack.

"No she gave it to you remember?" Hack looked back at his brother.

"She gave you what?" Bob spoke loudly.

"This." Slash held up Dot's planner.

"Her planner?" Bob took it from Slash's hand. "Why would she give you this?"

"She said she had a message." Hack said.

"Message for Bob she said." Slash continued.

"That we were supposed to deliver." Hack nodded. "Which we did."

"Yes we did!"

"But where is she?" Bob asked.

"Oh no! Can't tell you here, we get outside and then see message." Hack grabbed Bob's right arm while Slash grabbed the other.

"Yep, got to move!" Slash nodded.

"Hey, boys!" Bob struggled but the robots moved down the hall quickly towards the entrance.

Xxx

Dot stood in front of the doors to the War Room, waiting for them to open. She knew that Megabyte knew she was there but was probably enjoying seeing her alone without Bob or Matrix to help her out. She didn't have time for games and banged loudly on the door. A Vid-Window showing Megabyte appeared in front of her.

"Ah, Miss Matrix, we have been expecting you." Megabyte smiled at her which repulsed her but she kept her face blank. "And here, all alone with no one, not even Bob or your brainless renegade of a brother to protect you?"

"I'm here Megabyte, now open up and let's talk face to face." Dot went straight to the point.

"Very well."

The door opened, allowing Dot to enter the War Room, seeing the walls colored with Megabyte's signature blue color and metal cables attached to binomes making them nothing but mindless drones. Megabyte stood at the top console as he turned to welcome her.

"Well, Miss Matrix, what do you think of my little, redecoration?" Megabyte gestured to the room.

"Let's get to the point, I'm here now release the others and let them leave." Dot looked around, hoping to see them on one of the Vid-Windows.

"Let them go? Now why would I do that when I have you all in my power? I can just simply turn you into a mere drone and only Bob would be left." Megabyte walked up to her.

"This system won't respond to a drone, Megabyte. We've learned our lesson from last time, if I am infected you lose the Gateway Command."

"Oh, clever." Megabyte shrugged. "Well, seeing the wonderful opportunity before me I guess I can be a little charitable."

He walked back to the console and created a Vid-Window showing Mouse, AndrAIa, Matrix, and Enzo in the main hall with chains on their arms and legs.

"As you can see, they are just at the front entrance. All I need to do is give the word and they are free." Megabyte turned back to face her.

"What about Phong and my dad?" Dot noticed that they were not seen anywhere.

"I'm afraid they stay, they have already been infected so there's point in ordering me to releasing them. The people you see on the screen along with Bob are the only ones who I agreed to release." Megabyte shrugged.

"So let them go." Dot demanded.

"I'm afraid I can't do that yet, Bob's not with them." Megabyte smirked. "The deal was for everyone to leave."

"Bob will leave; I've ordered Hack and Slash to drag him out when he got my message." Dot replied. "They will follow my orders completely."

"I'll be surprised to see that." Megabyte chuckled, remembering how often Hack and Slash had screwed up even the basic tasks he had given them when they were his henchmen.

"They'll succeed, they like working for me." Dot smirked. "They never had a single rotten code in their design."

They watched as Hack and Slash brought Bob into the Great Hall and dragged him towards the entrance.

"Well, obviously you must have taught them how to obey you properly." Megabyte commented, earning a glare from Dot. "Very well." He tapped the communications switch. "She is here now, show them out."

The viral binomes forced the captive sprites to move and they walked to the entrance leading to the outside. Once they were out Megabyte tapped a switch and the doors were sealed.

"Well, now that they are out, you have a deal to complete." Megabyte turned to Dot.

"All right. Let's head to the Core, the sooner you're out of here the better." Dot turned towards the door.

Megabyte chuckled at her attitude as he followed her.

Xxx

When Bob and the others were dragged out of the Principal Office they heard they heard the sounds of the entrance to the building being sealed.

"NO!" Bob shouted as he ran to get back in but it was too late.

He banged his fists against the sealed entrance in frustration. Dot was alone in the Principal Office with Megabyte and his goons! How could the cycle get any worse?

"Bob!" He turned and was knocked down by Enzo.

As Bob shook his head everyone gathered around him.

"Bob, Dot traded herself to Megabreath so he'd let us all go! Please tell me it's all part of your plan! Oh, please, please tell me it was part of your plan!" Enzo cried as he shook Bob's shoulders.

"She did what?" Bob sat up.

"Yeah, Megabreath captured everyone else and was going to delete them but Dot agreed to trade herself for helping him get Dad's gateway!" Enzo's voice became louder with each word as his fear for his sister grew.

"Not if I can help it!" Matrix growled as he tried to kick the door down.

Only to be repelled by a blast of energy that sent him flying back.

"Matrix!" AndrAIa ran over to him and helped him sat back up.

"Firewall? I don't recall anyone installing a firewall at the front doors." Mouse said.

"There wasn't…" Bob said as he got back up. "Something's strange has been going ever since Megabyte took the War Room."

"As if that wasn't weird enough, look!" Enzo pointed up.

They looked up to see that Mainframe's peaceful blue sky with white clouds was now dark with red clouds.

"Dude, what's with the sky?" Enzo asked.

"That can only be done with a file installation but it can't be Megabyte's doing because it would have his viral colors." AndrAIa look at it with shock.

"Looks like you were right Bob; Megabyte's obviously got some help." Matrix scowled.

"Excuse me!" Hack's voice was heard behind them.

"Pardon me!" Slash said as he and his brother pushed their way through the crowd.

"Message for Bob!"

They pushed past Matrix who gave them a nasty glare but AndrAIa put a hand on his shoulder as the robots stopped in front of Bob.

"Okay, Bob, time to see the message." Slash said.

"Dot said open when everyone was outside." Hack said.

"Okay, okay." Bob hushed them as he held up Dot's planner.

Looking it over he found the 'play message' and pressed it. The planner then showed Dot in the hallway of the Principal Office, too far to be heard by Hack and Slash.

"Bob, if you and the others are out than the first part of plan has worked. Megabyte will have taken my offer up on reaching the Gateway Command in the Core Control Chamber. Yes, I have a plan but one that can only be done with me alone. Trying to involve you and the others while trapped in Megabyte's maze was not an option and I'm sorry to worry you like this." Dot had an apologetic look on her face. "But as the commander of the system it is my duty to ensure the safety of everyone here, including you. Megabyte won't stop with us, he could have crashed this system and he still can and then escape to the Supercomputer but he didn't. It's because he wants revenge, he wants to look down on us with us kneeling before him so he can proclaim that he won the game he lost last time. It's all about revenge on me, Mouse, Matrix, and you."

Dot's face became a look of righteous anger and determination.

"I will not let him take anything else from me after everything he's already done. Not after the Web, Megaframe, and what he made me do to you." Dot's expressions shifted to a look of remorse. "He made me turn my back on you while you were dying. I wanted to go back to the way things were before all this. It was wrong and selfish of me and for that I can truly forgive myself for that. I am so sorry Bob, you were there for me and I pushed you aside because I was afraid of remembering all the pain we went through." Dot wiped a tear from her eyes as she continued. "I loved you so much and I will never blame you if you can't forgive me, even though Mouse said you would. This is my chance to make up for that. When Megabyte tries to leave; I've set the Gateway Command to do to him what we tried to do to Daemon. I'm going to scatter his code to the far corners of the Net so he will never come back."

Everyone was silent in shock as they listened to what was probably Dot's craziest plan ever.

"I want to look him in the eye and tell him that he's lost for good. But it might mean sacrificing myself to get rid of him so please, tell Matrix and Enzo I love them both, Matrix for coming back and finding you, and Enzo for being the little boy that kept me happy through everything. Tell Mouse and AndrAIa I love them for being the best friends I could ever hope to have." Dot sighed. "If you find Dad and Phong, don't stop working on a way to cure Dad and bring everyone who was nullified back. And Bob, I love you."

The message ended with Dot breaking down in tears before screen went dark leaving a stunned group. The of the system was about to make the same sacrifice Hexadecimal had made.

"No…NO!" Bob shouted, dropping the planner onto the ground as he dropped to his knees.

…..

….

….

"OH DEAR!" Mike the TV exclaimed as his camera binome recorded the group's reaction to Dot's sacrifice. "Will Dot finally rid of us Megabyte's evil? Will Megabyte finally succeed in his revenge? The suspense! The horror! And…CUT!"

The camera binome stopped recording and started to cry a little at what Dot had done.

"Okay, we're clear now! Now we wait another ten nanos to see what's happened. Somebody call me at the studio." Mike began walking but stopped about five steps later. "Wait a nanosecond I don't have a studio! Why don't I have a studio?"

Xxx

Dot knew that she wouldn't be coming out of this alive. She figured it would only be appropriate since she thought she lost everyone she loved at one point. She thought she lost Bob when he was shot into the Web, she thought she lost her little brother, AndrAIa, and Frisket in the games, and now she was next. She was not afraid; she showed everyone how much of a force she was to be reckoned with.

She led Mainframe through the Web Wars, the Viral Wars, but after that everything went downhill for her. All her plans were useless against Daemon; she was unprepared for the super virus despite all her best plans. She underestimated Megabyte's new abilities and his intellect; of course he would figure out that they planned to trap using the one thing that would lead him to the Supercomputer. It was so obvious that she felt she should have banged her into the wall.

Her plans, they just didn't work anymore. She can't keep making up plans that would endanger her loved ones anymore. She needed to do this on her own.

"Miss Matrix, you seem very quiet. With all the recent events I thought we'd so much to talk about." Megabyte spoke up as she led him to the Core Chamber.

"There are a lot of things I want to say, _virus_." Dot gritted her teeth. "But unfortunately those kind of words are not to be used by the commander of this system."

"Oh really? Considering the wedding I thought that job was over." Megabyte sniggered.

Dot's hands balled up into tight fists as she stopped in the middle of the hall.

"If you want me to give you the Gateway you better shut that spamming mouth of yours." She growled and sounded very scary.

"Really, dear Dot, there's no need to use such language." Megabyte waved a finger at her like she was a little girl in trouble. "And that scowl, it doesn't look right on that beautiful face."

Dot glared hatefully at him and stomped forward, not able to stand looking at Megabyte's face with at infuriating grin he sported. He walked after her before she was out of sight and followed her patiently to the large steel doors that led to the Core Chamber. Dot stopped right in front of the door and a Vid-Window showing a blue sky appeared.

"Enter." Dot spoke.

_"Voice recognition please."_ The window asked.

"Dot Matrix."

The computer ran her voice over the previous recorded voice.

"_Voice recognition approved. Welcome, Dot Matrix._"

The doors opened, allowing them access into the massive chamber that was Core Room of Mainframe. In the center of the massive chamber was the Gateway Command.

"Excellent, my path to the Supercomputer." Megabyte whispered and smiled at Dot. "And given to me by the leader of the system herself."

"Consider it you're going away present, Megabyte." Dot snapped. "You've more than worn out your welcome this time."

"For once I agree." Megabyte nodded.

"I'll enter the codes to activate the gate." Dot stepped towards the consoles that control and operate the gate.

"Actually, that won't be necessary since I have my own plans for the gate." Megabyte grabbed her by the wrist.

"What?" Dot looked at the virus incredulously.

He pushed her out of the way and looked over the controls.

"Yes, while it would lead me to the Supercomputer I need it for something else." Megabyte tapped the console. "You see Miss Matrix, my powers allow me to not only copy the appearance of anyone I touch I can also copy their code and their Read Only Memories and it just so happened I gained the access codes for the gate during our last…kiss."

Dot's face consorted with a look of horror and anger as she realized Megabyte had played her again. She knew Megabyte would suspect that she had a plan to get rid of him but still she underestimated him.

"After all, your little brother told me how you planned to defeat Daemon, scattering her code to the far edges of the Net. A bold plan but one that I had anticipated." Megabyte inputted his own commands into the console. "And that's a little something I should keep filed away for when I use it myself."

"If you knew why'd you agree to let the others go?" Dot asked.

"It's simple, they have no idea what is coming." Megabyte typed in new coordinates. "So many systems that I could visit, even the Supercomputer but unfortunately I needed the Core Room secured and now that it is."

The Gateway Command activated in a blazing flash of light.

"Excellent." Megabyte laughed.

Out of the portal came black flying shark like creatures that flew around the Core Chamber. Dot's eyes widened in horror as she realized they were Web Creatures. A single Web Creature floated down in front of Megabyte.

"Excellent work, Megabyte." The creature spoke, shocking Dot. "You've opened the Gate and allowed my forces to slip through the Web and into the Net. You're even among the first viruses to secure a system for me."

"Yes, yes, as agreed your creatures have been given access to the Gate, XANA." Megabyte nodded. "This system will be ready for you. But until then…"

"Very well, if you wish to continue to play with your prey than by all means." The Web Creature gave the impression of a shrug. "It's really no concern of mine."

"So as long as you allow me to escape before the system goes down." Megabyte pointed out.

XANA chuckled. "As if I would decide to terminate a partner, especially one who has done a good job. But you have another objective to complete."

"Of course." Megabyte turned and grinned at Dot's speechless face.

"How…how…did…." Dot stuttered.

"Ah, Dot, there's so much you don't know." Megabyte laughed as he stepped towards her. "Don't worry you'll see a glimpse of it."

"And what is it?" Dot stepped back but Megabyte simply kept walking.

He kept walking towards her and raised a hand with metal tentacles coming out towards her.

"The Future."

Xxx

"OPEN THE DELL UP!" Matrix shouted as he fired at the entrance but all his bullets were repelled easily.

Mouse in the meantime was using Dot's planner to figure out why the sky had changed color. It meant that a file download must have happened but there was no scheduled upgrade from the User for some time.

"This is random, the code here are like nothing I've ever seen." Mouse shook her head in frustration. "Whoever did this has better security than the Supercomputer!"

"So now what?" Enzo asked.

"We need to set up a base of operations, find out what's been going out here since we got trapped inside." AndrAIa spoke up. "Gather anyone who hasn't been infected so we can have the numbers on our side. Megabyte won't stay in there, he's bound to come after us."

Any further discussion was cut off as large Vid-Windows appeared over the Principal Officer so everyone could see them. Megabyte stood in the Core Control Chamber with a proud smirk as he prepared to address the public.

"Your attention please, citizens of Mainframe. As you know I have mounted a flawless capture of the Principal Office and essentially the entire system. As some of you have noticed there's been a little change in the scenery which is due to the work of a few friends of mine." Megabyte chuckled. "Some of you will probably attempt to call for help, most notably the all powerful Guardians. But I'm afraid I will have to disappoint you, there is no help coming to your aid, you are alone. Some of you no doubt have objections to my control of this system but I have found the one person who has decided to step down as leader and accept the inevitable."

Megabyte stepped out of the way and Dot was revealed to the entire population.

"Oh know." Bob whispered in horror.

Dot's head was facing down obscuring her face from the public but her clothes had now changed to a dark blue version of her command outfit with Megabyte's logo on her chest.

"Your precious leader has seen the error of her ways." Megabyte grinned. "Go ahead, Dot, show them."

Dot raised her eyes and looked down at the populace of Mainframe. Only her eyes weren't the same soft violet eyes everyone had remembered. They were replaced with green irises and red pupils that seemed just wrong on her.

"This system belongs to Lord Megabyte now." Dot smiled but there was no warmth in it like before. "Lay down your arms and surrender."


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything belonging to Code: Lyoko, Total Drama, or Reboot. Code Lyoko is Property of Moonscoop, Reboot is the property of Mainframe Entertainment and Total Drama is the property of Fresh TV.**

Xxx

Chapter 9

**Lyoko**

**Mountain Sector**

"So this is what all of you look like in your world?" Tom asked as he gazed through window that showed the TD Lyoko Warriors in the lab. "You look just like sprites."

"Yep! In the flesh!" Izzy grinned, even though Tom was a little confused.

"So, when you're in the User World, what is it you guys do? What's your format, if you have one?" Tom suddenly realized he was the first to actually talk to a User.

Even though he was a little bitter and angry for the games and the viruses he still wanted to learn as much as he could about them.

"Our…format?" Duncan scratched his head. "Noah, Cody, nerd-speak translation."

"When you say format, do you mean our purpose?" Cody asked.

"Yes, essentially." Tom nodded. "My format is to defend systems from viruses and other threats."

"Uh…we don't really have a specific format…" Bridgette admitted. "I mean we're not designed to do a specific task, we decide what we want to do."

This confused Tom. "You…decide your own format?"

"And a lot of times that format changes," Noah added. "Like…one day my format could be to save the world and the next it could be just to repair computers…which would either be a major step down or a major step up now that I know there are whole civilizations on the net I could help by fixing computers."

"That sounds so…random," Tom said.

"That's because it is," Gwen nodded. "Everything we do is random and spontaneous."

"Your whole idea of format sounds very organized though," Cody said. "So every uh…Binome and Sprite has a format?"

"Yes, every one of them has a format, a specific task they fulfill." Tom explained. "It could change from time to time… I didn't come online as Guardian after all, I had to pass the academy exams and then be upgraded to Guardian Format."

"Sounds like a police academy or a military school," Trent said. "In other words Duncan, you're out of luck if you want in."

"Bite me," Duncan replied coolly. "Okay, so what do we do now? I mean if we know about this then XANA definitely has his nose jammed into it already."

"He does Duncan," Aelita sighed, standing next to Tom. "And I think that he is already taking advantage of having an expanded territory he can control without us to fight him. Let me show you all something."

A window next to the one showing Aelita and Tom appeared showing what appeared to a digital universe, resembling outer space with what looked like planets but no stars.

"What you are all seeing is the Net, the Internet itself." Aelita explained. "A digital universe that represents it, consisting of system or computers that are all connected. The Net was original made for Users to share information with each other by networking computers but as you can all see it has evolved into something so much more."

"I'll say!" Cody nodded.

Everyone was astonished as they saw the Net itself, looking almost like Outer Space but inside Cyberspace.

"Tom has been showing me just what the Net and the billions of people that inhabit it. What looks like planets are actually portals to systems inside our computers that in one way or another are connected. From what I've seen it's a level of Cyberspace that we haven't had access to until recently." Aelita continued.

"When Tom came through?" LeShawna asked.

"Tom, you mentioned a virus?" Aelita asked.

"Yes, a virus named Megabyte." Tom nodded. "Originally he was a level two virus named Kilobyte before he was captured and scheduled for deletion but the User who created him sent him an upgrade that skipped a generation, transforming him into a Supervirus named Gigabyte. The virus would have destroyed the Supercomputer but he was pulled away by an anomaly that locked onto his energy source and pulled him away. It turned out it was an experiment in a system called Mainframe, designed to lock onto other systems and establish a portal. But when Gigabyte arrived the experiment went critical because of the virus's powers, it overloaded and released a massive explosion that destroyed Mainframe's Twin City. When that happened Gigabyte was split into two new viruses, Megabyte and his sister virus Hexadecimal."

"And you mentioned Megabyte earlier…he's the main concern right now, right?" Geoff inquired.

"Yes; originally he was a Class Three File Infector," Tom explained. "But after he was pulled into the Web it was assumed that he would degrade into nothing, but we had received a call that he has returned as a Trojan Horse Virus. He's now able to take any form he wants to infiltrate a system. And he's attacked Mainframe again after masquerading as a Guardian."

"What? Oh come on I delete Trojan Horse viruses for fun," Noah said. "Just give me a lap top and I'd have him deleted in minutes."

"It won't be so easy Noah," Aelita shook her head. "Considering that the Web is the exact same area Tom came out of to the digital sea, don't you think it's too much of a coincidence that a virus with new powers would come from the same place? Especially since the hub Tom found in the Web has already been accessed."

"…by the one program I _can't_ delete with a lap top," Noah groaned. "XANA always makes a simple task impossible."

"So XANA's already got himself some new henchmen?" Gwen asked.

"You keep mentioning this XANA? Just who or what is this XANA you keep referring to?" Tom asked.

"A program that my father created here in Lyoko." Aelita replied. "XANA is like no other program you have seen and for the sake of everyone in the Net I hope you never do."

"He's not a virus?" Tom asked.

"Kind of, but different. XANA is a multi-agent program, meaning that he is capable of multiplying and dividing himself to complete more than one task and he can have the abilities of more than one format. He has viral characteristics but he is also skilled in hacking, better than any hacker program and has the abilities of just about any program."

"That's impossible." Tom pointed out. "There's no way someone could be that powerful. Not even the super virus Daemon was that powerful."

"Believe it from me, XANA can put any program to shame." Duncan shrugged.

"There's almost no limit to what he can do in Cyberspace but unfortunately he's not concerned with Cyberspace unless it benefits him in some way as much as he concerned with taking over our world." Aelita replied.

"He's trying to take over the User world?" Tom asked, surprised that any format could be capable of being a threat to the User world. "But what kind of program is capable of that? If your father made him what was his function?"

"He was originally meant to monitor any threats to my family in the User world and later meant with running Lyoko." Aelita replied. "Unfortunately, he decided he'd follow his own plans."

"He was capable of going against his code?" Tom asked. "What kind of program is capable of going against his own code?"

"Believe me, we were all surprised when it happened. XANA had gained the ability to make his own choice going against what he was created for and he decided to turn on us. No matter what we tried we couldn't destroy him without shutting Lyoko down and even then he found a way to escape." Aelita shook her head.

"So, he's out in the Net now?" Tom asked, feeling very afraid for everyone back in the Net.

"I doubt it. If XANA had infected the Net we'd probably have known by now. With all those systems under his control we'd be in serious danger by now. He wouldn't need a virus at all; he could just spread out through the Net easily." Aelita reassured him. "But if he upgraded Megabyte then maybe he's not capable of entering the Net."

"So what's that mean then?" Courtney asked.

"I need to see the Hub that allowed Tom to come here." Aelita replied.

Xxx

The Principal Office of Mainframe had become a well defended fortress with ABCs(Armored Binome Carriers) circling the building in squads with the main entrances sealed and the bridges lowered to prevent the rebel groups from crossing them like last time. With Dot under his control Megabyte had used her strategies to ensure that no rebels could attack the Principal Office like before and she even ensured that no one could get in through the top. Without the Mainframe would be disorganized and allowing him to continue the plan. Megabyte was alone in the War Room as he activated the communication system, attaching his metal cables to it and a pulse of red light traveled through the cables into the console.

The Vid-Windows went black and the red Eye of XANA appeared on all of them.

"Megabyte!" Lilith appeared in center window, waving at him. "How's it going?"

"I am not in the mood for your pointless games, Lilith. I need to speak to XANA." Megabyte waved her off.

"Sorry, Master XANA's busy and you know I'm in charge of directing Net operations." Lilith shook her head. "So what do you need?"

"The Gateway Command is activated and ready; I can send XANA's creatures to whatever system I want." Megabyte replied. "There is just the matter of finding systems with one or more viruses."

"Don't be so impatient, Megabyte. The Web Sharks are designed to seek out viruses with an upgrade ready for them regardless of how long it takes to find a system with a virus." Lilith replied. "What's the real reason you're calling?"

"Very well, there's the matter of the Guardians. Even if your strategies have left them in the dust it's only a matter of time before the increase in viral activity alerts them to something happening. I want to know how XANA intends to strike the Supercomputer." Megabyte narrowed his eyes. "I should let you know, Lilith, I have the option of using the Gateway to enter the Supercomputer and simply abandon your master's plan."

"You can try, Byte." Lilith smirked at the nickname she had given him. "However, Supercomputer or no Supercomputer Master XANA doesn't take betrayal lightly. He knows what kind of virus you are and probably anticipated a possible betrayal. But since you're curious… Our little surprise will crush the Guardian fleet and pave the way to the Supercomputer. However we need the Guardians spread across the Net instead of a united fleet ready to be launched."

"Effectively decreasing their fire power with the number of deadly viruses on the loose." Megabyte caught onto their plan.

"Exactly, right now the Guardians have the numbers on their side. Which is why we need to strike advanced systems first before going after the Supercomputer. They still don't know yet, because systems like Mainframe are not that important, even though this system was the one that stopped Daemon." Lilith replied.

"And I suppose you plan to target systems with ports to the Net like Daemon did to restrict Net travel?" Megabyte asked.

"No." Lilith replied. "Systems with ports to the Net are important like the Gateway command."

"Hm?" Megabyte narrowed his eyes.

"Your job is to keep this system under your control until Master XANA has gained enough power to initiate the second part of the plan. Don't let the sprites get in the way." Lilith replied.

"No need to worry, without their precious Dot to lead them these Mainframers will be scattered and desperate." Megabyte grinned.

"Speaking off, how goes the hunt? I heard you had captured the of Mainframe but let everyone else go. That's not like you, Megabyte." Lilith said.

"It was simply a tactic to reach the Gateway Command and to increase the despair of seeing their turned against them. I can only imagine how well the Guardian and Dot's brothers are dealing with this." Megabyte chuckled. "Dot's own abilities were the instrument in their victory last time and now they will have to function without her. I wonder how well they will hold up?"

"You're quite the dramatic virus aren't you?" Lilith shook her head. "I guess there's nothing else to say. Only that you should stop asking for Master XANA, he's too busy to deal with your hunt and that's why he put me in charge of directing Net operations so get use to it, Byte."

Lilith was replaced by the Eye of XANA again before it returned to showing Mainframe.

"Oh don't worry, Lilith, I'll be good…for now."

Xxx

**Digital Sea**

**Worldwide Network**

Tom glanced slightly at Aelita who in the co-pilot seat next to him as he piloted his ship through the Digital Sea in the World Wide Network. After a long talk Aelita convinced him to take her back to the giant tower that he had emerged when he went through the hub connecting the Network to the Web. The Lyoko Warriors in the lab had been hesitant in letting Aelita go with a stranger that could be dangerous but Aelita convinced them that Tom was trustworthy and that she would a communications link with the computer. It was easy to trace the trail back to the hub and after nearly five minutes or in Tom's case five nanoseconds to reach the hub.

"There, you see it?" Tom pointed ahead.

"I do." Aelita nodded. "Cody, I'm sending all of you a visual."

Xxx

Everyone in the lab saw the hub appear on a window that Aelita had sent.

"That's definitely XANA's calling card." Duncan nodded at the Eye on the Hub. "So, any idea on how to get in?"

Xxx

"Tom, can you set up a link with the hub again and direct it to the ship's computer?" Aelita pointed to the console.

"Sure thing. Dac, link." Tom replied.

His key tool as it set up a data link with the hub and the computer in front of Aelita lit up with lines of data.

"You understand any of that?" Tom asked.

"It's a little complicated but I recognize my father's work anywhere." Aelita replied, looking over the data. "Hm, I think I know how to enter it."

She looked down at the keyboard in front of her and typed quickly. The Eye of XANA glowed green and opened up, allowing the ship to enter the massive tower. The ship entered the tower and passed through an energy field keeping the Digital Sea out.

"The Digital Sea is being kept out by some kind of security field. It's okay to leave the ship." Aelita looked around.

Tom tapped several buttons and the blast shield opened up, allowing them to jump out of the cockpit. They stood in a giant stone hall that was large enough for Tom's ship to land and have plenty of room with lines of green light traveling down the walls. They walked down the hall, Aelita held up a single hand ready to fire an Energy Field while Tom aimed Dac at almost anything suspicious looking. At the end of the hall was a pair of giant doors.

Aelita gently opened the doors and they stepped forward into a massive chamber.

"By the Net…" Tom exclaimed.

In the center of the room was a large crystal like computer that resembled the Lyoko Supercomputer and on the other end of the chamber was a hallway showing the data storm that was hiding the hub in the Web.

"What is this place?" Tom asked.

"This chamber is the border between the Network and Web. We're standing in the center here and this must control the Hub." Aelita walked up to the computer. She saw the crystal interface and placed her hand on it.

A ring of light traveled up her body as a screen appeared in front of her.

**Scanning**

**Identity Confirmed: Aelita**

**Access Approved**

"This Hub it knows me…" Aelita looked over the screen. "It's amazing…It's a gateway between two worlds in Cyberspace."

"Which is the only reason why the Web hasn't degraded us." Tom looked around. "I wonder if there's a Hub somewhere in the Net."

"There's something else." Aelita's eyes narrowed. "Cody, I'm looking at the security system right now and one of the programs it's designed to block is a Multi-Agent Program."

"_So you were right, there was something keeping XANA out of the Net._" Cody said.

"Yes, but something opened the gate and there are lines of viral coding here. It's centered around the programs that allow the gate to open or close."

"What colors are they?" Tom walked up to her.

"Blue and green." Aelita looked at him.

"Megabyte. He was the one who opened the gate and this XANA must have given him his new abilities." Tom's eyes narrowed.

Xxx

"So some virus has just let the world's baddest AI into their house. What do we do now?" Noah asked.

"I think it's obvious. XANA's causing trouble else where we need to follow and kick his digital behind out before he does something bad." LeShawna replied.

"_It's not that easy, LeShawna. Tom's ship can't hold all of us and I need time to recreate the Skid._" Aelita replied. "_Tom told me if we go into the Web without protection our digital forms will degrade from all the corrupted data._"

"So now what?" Gwen asked.

Xxx

"Tom, I need to return to my world for a bit to make up a plan. Can you wait a little bit before doing anything?" Aelita asked.

"Depends on how long. This doesn't sound good and every nano we waste the more trouble there's going to be."

"I promise, I won't take long and I won't let XANA have his way." Aelita replied, sounding so determined that Tom believed her.

Both the Guardian from the Net and the Guardian of Lyoko returned to Tom's ship and headed back to Lyoko.

Xxx

**The Net**

**Mainframe**

It was almost impossible for things to get worse in Mainframe since Megabyte has taken control of the Principal Office with Dot Matrix under his control. Viral Binomes patrolled the street with ABCs in the sky, looking out for any sign of rebels. A group of civilians were surrounded by viral troops on with an ABC landing on the ground in front of Dot's Diner. They were forced onto the transport with weapons ready to delete anyone who tried to run.

A child cried as he was forced away from his parents as they were taken onto the transport while the children were taken to another location. AndrAIa watched this nearby from behind a crate, her fists clenching as she had to fight the urge to attack the transport. But she was outnumbered and knew that any attempt to save the civilians would be suicide. Remembering her mission she placed a surveillance camera on a nearby lamp post and ran back into the alley she came out.

Following the directions she took to reach the Diner AndrAIa found herself in Level 31. The rebels needed a place to hide and the only place that seemed safe was at the very bottom of Mainframe to set up a resistance against Megabyte. AndrAIa stopped and double checked to make sure no one saw as she lifted up a warehouse door and slipped in, closing the door when she was inside. Two military binomes were waiting for her with turrets pointed at the door in case it was an enemy.

"Relax, boys, it's me." AndrAIa held her hands up.

The binomes nodded and allowed her walk past them. Taking a chance to look at all the rebel binomes and sprites they had gathered AndrAIa walked towards the elevator and pushed for the bottom level. The doors opened allowing her in and she waited for it to take her down. When the doors opened she walked into a large room with several computers set up and screens showing the streets the rebels had managed to place cameras in.

"You made it!" Mouse turned and hugged her quickly.

"I did, it was a bit of touch and go but I made it." AndrAIa smiled.

"How's it look?" Mouse asked as they walked towards the desk with all the reports.

"Not good. Megabyte's locked down all the sectors and anyone found outside their homes are taken to the Principal Office." AndrAIa sighed sadly. "He's also got firewalls around the financial areas, locking down nearly all sources of credit. Megabyte's using Dot's own resources against her."

"That poor girl…" Mouse shook her head.

"I know. There are almost hundreds of virals patrolling the streets and with the Principal Office under his control Megabyte can mobilize his force faster than we can." AndrAIa replied. "What about you? Has Ray managed to form a portal out of here?"

"Sorry, sugar, Ray tried but whatever Megabyte used is keeping us trapped here. Don't expect outside help to come anytime soon." Mouse rubbed her forehead. "I still can't figure out the codes he used to do this."

"What about Bob and Matrix?" AndrAIa asked.

"Matrix is aching to launch a full attack but we're in no position to attack the Principal Office. He suggested finding more helpers but I know Dot would never want to involve innocent people in this war." Mouse replied.

"She's right about that. We can't involve civilians in this fight." AndrAIa nodded. "What about Bob?"

"He's thinking of a way to bypass Megabyte's control of the War Room but right now he has no idea." Mouse said. "The good news is that we got the Pirates and Ray to help us so even if Megabyte's got the upper hand we can still make it hard for him."

"I hope so, Mouse. This isn't like before." AndrAIa looked at the screens showing the streets of Mainframe. "Megabyte's after all of us this time. It's not about getting to the Supercomputer or taking over Mainframe. He wants revenge on all of us, that's what Dot understood."

"Let him try. I won't let Dot lose everything again." Mouse pulled out her sword. "Even if I have to go up against him myself."

Xxx

**Real World**

**The Lab**

"What we're looking at is a Hub, a portal between the Digital Sea and the Web, which happens to be the World Wide Web." Aelita pointed at the Hub displayed by the Holo-Map. "While the Net represents the Internet, constantly evolving and changing the Web represents all forms of data that has become corrupted and fragmented. Both forms of cyberspace exist in all of our computers like the Digital Sea we just never knew that they existed until now."

"And XANA found a way in." Gwen crossed her arms.

"Not exactly, I looked over the Hub's programs. I think my parents may have somehow known about it because there are several advanced forms of security encoded in the control console of the Hub. One of them was designed to block a Multi-Agent Program." Aelita replied.

"So XANA couldn't get through." Cody said.

"Until now. Someone opened the door on the other side, allowing XANA to slip something through allowing him a connection on the other side." Aelita looked back at the Hub. "I believe the virus named Megabyte is to blame for that."

"So, a computer program just let the world's worst computer program into another dimension of cyberspace. Let's go in there and take them out." Duncan said.

"I wish it was that easy, Duncan. But Tom's ship can't hold all of us and if we're exposed to the Web our digital forms will degrade into something that I'm not sure I'd like to see." Aelita shook her head. "But you're right; we need to go after XANA before he does something in the Net that affects both worlds. I think we need to go after Megabyte."

"But how?" Bridgette asked.

"According to Tom Megabyte in a small system named Mainframe. But going through the Hub is the difficult part and worse without a link to Lyoko it would be a one way trip if our life points hit zero in a battle."

"So what do we do?" Courtney asked.

"First we have to rebuild the Skid…which was unfortunately destroyed a couple years ago by the Kollossus." Aelita said, sitting down at the computer. "Second, the Skid can only hold five of us with me as the pilot, so you would all have to choose who goes with me and who goes with Tom. I need to get the schematics out to recreate the Skid."

"The digital Submarine? Cool! I wish I could still go to Lyoko to see it! Going underwater in the Digital Sea. You guys are so lucky." Cody groaned.

"We'll take you for a ride when I find a cure to that virus." Aelita replied.

"In the meantime I need to send a report to the Guardians and warn them. If what you say is true then Megabyte is just the beginning." Tom spoke up from the computer and looked down at his Keytool. "Dac, wide range communicator, Turbo's frequency."

Dac beeped and transformed into a small satellite dish. The dish beeped several times but switched back to its original form and showed Tom the results of its attempt.

"Spam, I'm too far out of range. I can't get through to the Guardians." Tom sighed.

"Guess it happens when you're in another universe." Aelita replied. "Perhaps I can boost the signal using the supercomputer here."

"Sounds like a good idea. I guess I have no choice but to wait." Tom said reluctantly.

"Hey, you can teach us more about the Net and we can tell you more about the User world." Bridgette said, hoping to lift Tom's spirits.

"I guess so."


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything belonging to Code: Lyoko, Total Drama, or Reboot. Code Lyoko is Property of Moonscoop, Reboot is the property of Mainframe Entertainment and Total Drama is the property of Fresh TV.**

Xxx

Chapter 10

As the war against Megabyte continued in Mainframe and the Lyoko Warriors prepared for their journey with their new friend Tom more events were happening in other systems of the Net. The upgraded virus known as Arachne strolled forwards towards the entrance leading to the Core of the System she had taken over. Her infected subjects had gathered in lines on both sides of the giant hall leading to the Core Entrance and knelt down as she passed them. She stopped in front of the entrance and waited as her servant, the infected Guardian Captain placed his hand on the panel.

The door opened, revealing the bright light of the interior of the Core that was deadly to most sprites but Arachne simply smiled as the Eye of XANA flashed in her cat like eyes.

"It has begun my servants. The time of evolution is upon us and the power of the Net will fuel our ascension." Arachne proclaimed, pausing as her subjects cheered.

Composing herself she walked into the light and proceeded directly into the Core.

Xxx

"Keep it down!"

"We're trying!"

The security force was surrounding a virus resembling a metallic raptor with dark green armored scales, sharp claws on its hands and feet, and a sharp pointed tail. Despite the fact that there was no Guardian here in the system known as Agri Prime the system was advanced with a security force that had all the needed equipment and training for dealing with viruses. The sprite captain watched as his teams of binomes kept their staffs out to keep the virus from escaping.

"Well, it's like old lizard breath's done." Standing on the roof of a building that stood over the fight was a sprite looking around eight hours old.

She had tanned skin, red hair in a pony tail, deep purple eyes, and a purple suit that covered her body with black armor resembling the same armor Hexadecimal wore when she was rebuilt by Megabyte.

"And it was just getting interesting in this dull system." She sighed.

A transport landed a few feet away with more security binomes and sprites coming out, ready to transport the virus to the Principal Office to be deleted. However just as they got ready a blast of light in the sky attracted everyone's attention. Above the city appeared a tear that stabilized into a portal to the Web. At first everyone panicked, believing that Web Creatures would come out and attempt to overwhelm the system but only one came out before the portal vanished.

The web creature resembled a black flying shark with a strange eye like icon as it looked down at the system. It felt the energies to two viruses and spotted the raptor like virus surrounded by security officers. It roared and flew down to the street below as the security team aimed their weapons to destroy the creature. It ignored them as it flew at the raptor virus at full speed dodging any energy blast aimed at it.

The virus tried to dodge but the creature slammed into it earning a scream from the virus as the creature merged with it. There was a bright flash of red light as the virus began to transform, growing in size and power. The security team could only watch in horror as the new virus resembled a giant muscular metallic humanoid dragon with red glowing eyes that flashed with the Eye of XANA as black pupils. The new virus growled as it looked around the system its predecessor tried to infect but failed miserably.

"OOHH!" The young girl grinned. "Things are getting interesting again!"

The dragon virus let out a terrifying roar as it stared down at the security team. It released a stream of fire from its mouth that incinerated the security team. They all screamed as they were burned into deletion. The dragon virus stared in satisfaction the burning remains of the team before turning its red eyes on the Principal Office of Agri Prime.

"Nice upgrade, Drago." The dragon virus turned and saw the young sprite floating down to the ground. "Good timing on that web creature's part. All though I find hard to believe that a Web Creature is capable of upgrading a virus, since they can't survive outside the Web without energy to sustain them."

"….Nyx." The dragon virus growled.

Despite its new form and existence the Dragon virus remembered the little girl who had only arrived in Agri Prime shortly after he did. Despite her young appearance, Nyx was actually a virus and he remembered her function. For Drago his function was to cause destruction, burn systems to the ground but this one child looking virus always stopped him because of her function. Like Hexadecimal Nyx was a Chaotic Virus who loved to cause mischief and mayhem to anyplace she went, mocking people and playing pranks. Created by a User who shared her love of causing mischief she saw everyone around her as her toys and when Drago tried to delete or infect them Nyx appeared and stopped him.

She doesn't delete or infect anyone because she believes if she takes away free will there will be no chaos and no chaos meant no fun. That was why she was so happy that Daemon had failed, that super virus's infection made everyone so boring! Now she was standing in his way again but he was much stronger now.

"I AM LORD INFERNO AND THIS SYSTEM IS MINE! YOU WILL SUBMIT TO MY WILL OR FACE DELETION!" The dragon, Inferno growled.

"Oh come on! There's no need for us to fight. We're both viruses so why not be friends and have some fun?" Nyx pouted.

Inferno growled maliciously at Nyx, seemingly giving his answer as smoke flared out of his nostrils.

"I take that as a no." Nyx's pout changed to a serious look. "I really hate spoil sports; they do nothing but trample and break my toys wherever I go."

She pulled out two metal cylinders from her waist.

"No one, Guardians, Sprites, Binomes, or even Code Masters and fellow Viruses stands in the way of my fun." Nyx tapped a switch on both cylinders and purple streams of energy came out of cylinders that resembled whips when Nyx swung them through the air. "You want this system? You can have it but only after I get bored of this place."

Inferno growled at her challenge and responded with by unleashing a blast of fire. Nyx dodged, flying into the air and flew at Inferno like a speeding bullet.

"No one breaks my toys!" Nyx swung her energy whips.

Inferno raised his hand and a shield made of fire blocked the energy whips. The shield dropped and Inferno released a blast of fire but Nyx dodged by flying out of the way. Seeing that her energy whips had no effect on Inferno she flew in close and placed both her hands on the ground. Inferno looked down to see the ground around him turn dark as a shadow portal opened under his feet.

"Ha!" Nyx grinned.

But to her shock Inferno floated out of the portal and hovered in the air.

"Oh man!" Nyx groaned.

Apparently the new upgrade had not only given him extra fire power and defense but gave him the ability to fly. Inferno released a stream of fire from his mouth at Nyx who took off down the streets to avoid the scorching flames.

"Troublesome!" Nyx groaned.

Inferno flew after her spewing flames and burning the street of the already messy sector in his quest to delete the troublesome virus. Despite Nyx's ability to fly and create portals unlike Hexadecimal she did not possess transfinite energy reserves and she was only a Class Three Chaotic Virus, a level below Hexadecimal. Inferno's previous self, Drago was a Class Three Destruction Virus and now he was upgraded to a level above Nyx. She was many things but stupid was not one of them and recognized that she might not be able to win this fight. Creating a shadow portal in front of her she flew through it with a fire blast following her.

Inferno growled as the portal vanished, annoyed that his prey escaped. He was considering destroying the entire system just to delete her but the Eye of XANA flashed in his red eyes and he remembered. When he was upgraded he received something else that directed his attention to the Principal Office. He couldn't understand why but he was drawn there by something that was placed inside of him by the Web Creature that upgraded him. Viruses never obeyed anyone except their function but anything with XANA's data in it made them susceptible to his control.

Inferno was pretty much a minion of XANA like his monsters and generals whether he liked it or not, not that he even knew who XANA was. All he knew that was he felt he needed to go to the Principal Office which he did without question as he took. That pesky little brat Nyx would have to wait to be deleted later, he had a city to conquer.

Xxx

Nyx had made it back to the small house that became her temporary home in this system and watched through a window as Inferno flew towards the Principal Office. Her room was a typical room for a small sprite with the walls painted purple and she sat on a bed with blue sheets and covers. She had a pout like frown on her face as she watched the virus that chased her back to her home.

'Just you wait dragon breath, this is not over. Not over by a long shot.'

Inferno won the battle and he may take over the system but no one would ruin her playground. The entire Net was her playground with an unlimited amount of playmates and toys and this virus now sought to destroy one of them. That was unacceptable to Nyx and she would never forgive Inferno or anyone who threatened her toys.

Xxx

"Looks like the first seed has been planted." Lilith commented as she along with the generals looked at a giant screen showing the Net.

One of the systems started blinking red signifying that the virus had carried out XANA's orders.

"And just how many more to go? And when are we heading back out to fight again?" Ryder leaned against the wall with his arms crossed. "It should be simple for us to take over that dump."

"Let them do the hard work, so we can have a break." Sora laid back on the couch he was sitting on. "Less work for us the better."

"What about the Warriors? Shouldn't be we fighting them?" Jinx looked at Lilith.

"Sorry, we're not to go after them until they are in the Net." Lilith shook her head. "Master XANA wants them at their most vulnerable spot."

"Meaning more waiting." Blade grumbled.

"Don't be so grumpy Blade. Master XANA has put a lot of work into this plan." Lilith looked at the screen. "If anyone can change the laws of a digital universe it's Master XANA. An entire universe will bring forth armies that not even the Warriors can handle."

"Sure taking his sweet time making the army." Ryder commented and ducked as an ice shard was flung at him by Yuki. "Hey!"

"Please don't criticize the Master." Yuki sat cross legged on the floor. "He is the one who directs while we follow."

"And this time it's going to be big." Lilith smirked. "Just wait and see."

Xxx

"All right, we can't all go through the Hub on Tom's ship and the Web's degrading data would be hazardous to us in our digital forms. But Tom showed me exactly his ship uses to protect himself from the Web which I added to the Skid II." Aelita explained to everyone in the lab. "That may be our way into Mainframe."

"How do you plan to do that?" Cody asked.

Both he and Noah were good at figuring out Aelita's plan fastest out of the group but this one had them stumped.

"It's simple, while looking over the Hub not only does it allow us into the Web but it also has allows the person at the controls to connect to any systems in the Net. I think, the reason why Tom found it in the Web is because it's the perfect place to hide the Hub on their side. If my parents knew about the Hub they either kept any knowledge of it on another supercomputer or they deleted meaning they didn't want anyone, especially XANA knowing about it." Aelita explained.

"Makes sense." Gwen nodded. "Who knows what would happen if anyone on either side knew about the Hub?"

"But, that's where we come on. The Hub was able to transport Tom here and I think it can do the same for us and when we're through Tom can lead us to Mainframe." Aelita continued.

"Just what exactly is this Skid?" Tom asked, from the computer screen.

"Back when XANA escaped from Lyoko we built a digital submarine to follow him through the Digital Sea. It was destroyed but we kept the blue prints so it will be easy to rebuild it."Aelita turned to the computer and brought up an image of the Skid. "But one problem is that when XANA came back and recreated Lyoko the hanger that held the Skid was deleted. So not only will I need to rebuild the Skid I'll need the hanger to store it."

"I'm on it. I can do that." Cody pulled out his laptop and hooked it up to the Supercomputer.

"Noah, you and I will work on restoring the Skid as fast as possible." Aelita turned to the bookworm.

"On it." Noah nodded.

"Tom, if we're going to reach Mainframe I need to know what we're supposed to expect when we get there." Aelita said. "If you wish to help us I'd like to set up a link with your keytool."

"Gladly," Tom held up Dac. "Dac will tell you everything…actually he'll sing too."

"I don't even want to know how it'll do that-and don't you show me either." Noah said quickly. "We'll get to work on the Skidbla-Skadblid-…Skid."

"The next phase involves you returning to the hub so Dac can link Lyoko to the Hub. When that happens you can provide us with Mainframe's location." Aelita finished her plan. "Tom can lead us to Mainframe through the Web."

"That sounds risky, crazy, and downright random." Tom pointed out.

"Just our style!" Izzy laughed.

"And what happens if XANA attacks in Lyoko?" Heather asked.

"There is a possibility but my guess he will be too focused on us in the Net to use Lyoko. Once we get to the Net he'll want to exterminate us as soon as possible rather than go after Earth with a tower. He usually focuses on the main problem first, namely us." Aelita pointed out. "We would need to precisely time this. But it could work. We'll need to form teams. I will take the Skid Team who will be anyone willing to volunteer."

"I can take one or two of you in my ship. It may be small but it can carry up to four sprites." Tom pointed out.

"The good news is that I modified the Skid to have four pods so five us can go with me as the pilot." Aelita replied. "Meaning three of you can travel with Tom."

"Still though, I should monitor Lyoko for any activity while you guys are on the Net just in case." Cody said.

"Good idea." Aelita nodded.

"So who goes with Aelita?" Courtney asked.

"I pick going with Aelita, her skills make me at least feel safe even when I am getting shot at." Noah said.

"Thank you." Aelita smirked.

"I'll go with Aelita too." Gwen raised a hand. "XANA will want her gone as soon he finds out she's in the Net."

"Can Izzy go in the sub? Please? Please? Please?" Izzy got on her knees and begged. "Please? Please? Please? Please?"

"Okay, okay! All you had to do was ask." Aelita patted Izzy on the head.

"Yes!" Izzy jumped into the air. "Red October eat your digital heart out!"

"I guess I'm in too. Someone needs to keep a level head." Courtney said.

"So, we're going with Tom." Duncan pointed to the others who didn't speak.

"Don't try to steal anything." Gwen smirked.

"Ouch. You think I am going to try and steal something in another digital universe while we're saving it?" Duncan asked.

No one answered but everyone stared at him with looks saying 'Obviously'.

"Yeah, I get it I wouldn't trust me either."

"Uh guys?" Tom asked. "I can only take about two."

"Actually, maybe someone and Izzy can share a pod if Izzy changes into something small." Aelita pointed out.

"Okay, I'll turn into a little slug that slithers into their head so I can suck out their brain." Izzy said with a mischievous grin.

"I'll take my chances with Tom." Heather said and Duncan and Trent instantly agreed leaving poor Bridgette.

Xxx

The young copy of the original Enzo Matrix was sitting at a table in his sister's Dinner as he looked out at Mainframe. The sky was still dark with red clouds; the streets that were once full of people were now empty with infected troops arresting anyone who was caught outside. Megabyte had almost achieved complete control of the city and worse he had his sister in his clutches.

'Why so sad, Enzo?' A voice made Enzo look up from patting his dog, Frisket.

"Uh?" He looked around but there was no one else inside the diner.

'You seem so sad. Why are you sad?' The voice sounded like a girl around his age but he couldn't see anyone.

"Hello?" He called out, earning a puzzled look from Frisket.

'Hello.' The voice giggled.

"Where are you?" Enzo asked.

'Out here in the Net, I tried to enter Mainframe but something is keeping me out.'

"Who are you? What do you mean you're in the Net? Why am I hearing you?"

'We are connected, Enzo. We share a bond left by Mother.' The voice said with a kindness that made Enzo doubt he was imagining it. 'Mother loved you and you loved her, one of the few people who ever showed her kindness.

"Mother? I still don't understand." Enzo said, feeling glad he was alone or people might think he had gone totally random.

'You will in time, Enzo. Tell me, why are you sad?'

"Because my home and my friends are in trouble. Megabreath has captured my sister and he's hurting everyone I care about." Enzo looked miserably.

'Megabyte is back?!' Enzo was taken back by the voice now full of shock and hate.

"Yeah, he came back disguised as Bob and turned us against him and then he….he took control of Mainframe…How do you know him?"

'I know because I have Mother's memories. I remember the pain and suffering he caused and what he did to everyone.'

"Megabyte hurt your mom?"

'Yes and he did so much more. I hate him as much as Mother hated him and if he has hurt you or Bob he will pay.'

"How?"

'I don't know but I will find a way past whatever is blocking me and I will find you, Enzo. You'll understand when we are all together.'

"What if….if Mainframe's gone when you get here?"

'That's not the little Enzo Matrix my Mother adored. You never gave up in the face of Megabyte or Daemon. They all need you, Enzo.'

"But I can't do anything. I watched Megabyte play my sister like an MP3, broke her dreams down, turned her and Bob against each other, capture my friends, and turn my home into a complete Dell. I was helpless, all I could was watch him as he inflicted all the pain and how he enjoyed it." Enzo sat back at his table and looked down at floor with a miserable look. 'I'm not like Bob, I'm not smart like Dot, I'm not strong like Matrix and I can't do anything to help them.'

'Then you must be strong for them, everyone. They need you because you helped them at the end of it all. Please, be there and help them, Enzo and I will stand with you through it all.' The voice said with determination.

"Thank you, but who are you?" Enzo shook his head. "This is random, even for me. How do I know you're not just a voice in my head? How do I know this is not some crazy dream?"

'You will see me and then you will understand. Tell me, what is it you want?'

Enzo couldn't understand why the voice asked him that question but he had no reason not to answer.

"I..I want to help my friends, my family. I want to protect my home so it won't become Megaframe again; I want my sister to be happy again and not have to worry about her home being threatened again. I want Matrix to have a life without fighting anymore so he can be happy with AndrAIa. I want Bob to be able to live a life without having risk his life to defend his friends. I want….people to be happy."

He waited for an immediate reply, not caring if anyone would walk and think he was random anymore. He needed to let out all of these feelings that had been bottled up in him ever since Megabyte took control of his sister. Bob and the others were fighting and leaving him alone and he would do anything to be with them.

'I understand now, why Mother would love you so much. You are not like any other sprite in the Entire Net, Enzo.' The voice replied with a hint of pride. 'You will stand against Megabyte and his forces for them, just like how Mother stood with them when all seemed lost even though she knew that only person would trust her.'

'If you are real than who are you?' Enzo asked.

'I am my Mother's child, inheritor of her power and love for anyone who she loved and hate for anyone who dared to harm her. I come from the Net but I know that this place, Mainframe is my home. I was born when two opposite forces collided and merged and I have gained the best of both, Chaos and Order brought together into…Harmony.'

"Harmony?"

'Yes, wait for me Enzo and you will see. We are bonded and I will make your wish come true, just like how Mother would.'

Enzo couldn't tell it was a dream or if it was actually real but he actually felt comfort from the voice. He felt hope that his sister and friends would be safe and Megabyte would be stopped for good this time.

Xxx

**Happy Halloween everybody! Now a few things you should know about this chapter.**

**The virus named Nyx was made up and suggested by nightmaster000 who I thank for sending the name and description and hope that Nyx's personality and appearance fit with what the author suggested. As the story goes on I'll try and introduce any other OCs that anyone might suggest after I see how they can fit into the story.**

**And now, the Halloween Special**

Xxx

"Wait, we're not appearing in this story!?" Carlos groaned. "How come?!"

"It's a Code Lyoko, Total Drama, and Reboot crossover, we're lucky if we even get a mention!" Kurt replied playing a video game.

"But come on! We've been in almost every story that Lord Maximus and Familiar47 made since they teamed up for those Invader Zim stories! They can't just say we're not making an appearance!" Carlos complained.

"So ask them to make a special appearance!" Kurt retorted. "I'm trying to win this game here! Talk to the author about how weird things are happening here! This new guy is good."

Carlos looked to the second player who was….just the second remote controlled floating in the air and moving like someone was using it but no one was there!

"Uh….Kurt?" Carlos asked.

"Not now Carlos! This guy is stomping me!" Kurt waved him off and leaned closer to the floating controller. "Sorry, the guy sometimes forgets about manners."

"Meh…" A deep growling grunted.

"Here's an idea why don't you go and find out what broke this number 2 pencil?" Kurt tossed a pencil broken in two pieces at Carlos. "No ordinary person could have done that."

"Oh yeah…this _reeks_ of supernatural activity." Carlos said sarcastically.

"Glad we're on the same page." Kurt waved him off.

"Kurt, the second player is being held by a…." Carlos started but a Klondike bar flew through the air and smacked him in the face.

He fell over with a groan and picked up the bar. "Oh, supernatural Klondike bar." He tore off the wrapper and started eating.

"That always works." Kurt chuckled.

Right next to the floating controller a cell phone floated up and on the screen was a text message.

'I know. He is very easy to distract.'


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything belonging to Code: Lyoko, Total Drama, or Reboot. Code Lyoko is Property of Moonscoop, Reboot is the property of Mainframe Entertainment and Total Drama is the property of Fresh TV.**

Xxx

Chapter 11

**Earth**

**Location: Lyoko Lab **

"So how's the virtual sub going, Aelita?" Cody asked.

"The programming is now complete. It didn't take long for me to remake the Skid. Now to launch the construction phase. And... Now." Aelita pressed the 'Enter' button.

A schematic appeared on the screen.

"Is that it?" Bridgette asked.

"Good thing when XANA rebuilt Lyoko he made no changes to Sector 5. It was easy to remake the hanger." Aelita replied as the Skid appeared on the screen.

"Ooh, fancy." Cody nodded.

"I call dibs on driving!" Courtney stated. "I don't trust anybody else here besides Aelita."

"Extra weapons, extra shields, but I couldn't add any extra pods," Aelita explained.

"I look forward to seeing it." Tom said as he appeared on the screen.

"It'll take half an hour to finish." Aelita replied.

"That long?! The entire Net could be deleted by then!" Tom exclaimed.

"What do you mean? XANA can't work that fast." Cody pointed out.

"It took the Guardians only a cycle to build my ship and it takes half an hour to build a submarine?" Tom was flabbergasted. "Not to mention the extra ten nanoseconds it'll take to find the Hub.

"Half an hour is fast by our standards when it comes to building something as complicated as the Skid. What do you mean by a cycle?" Aelita asked. "I believe we're dealing with another culture gap. You say it took ten nanoseconds to reach the Hub?"

"Yes." Tom nodded.

"To me it took ten minutes." Aelita replied.

"Huh?"

"I get it. Where they come from a minute to us is a nanosecond to them. We have different time measurements." Cody understood.

"Looks like we have some studying to do." Gwen sighed.

"Tom sent us information on the Net, Mainframe and this Megabyte while we were in the tower so we can study a bit while the Skid is being created." Aelita said as she opened up a file that had several catalogued files with different labels. "While we wait I suggest we look over what we'll need to know before we jump in."

"That might take a little while; Tom gave us a lot of files." Cody pointed out.

"Which is why I suggest we divide the information up. Half of us will look up Mainframe and the other will look up viruses and Megabyte." Aelita replied. "I'll work on recreating the hangar while you guys look at whatever file you think you should see."

"How about we look at Megabyte first? See who we're going up against." Gwen suggested.

"All right." Aelita clicked on the files. "I'm sending it to your Blackberry, Gwen. The Virus file is being sent to Courtney's PDA."

Both girls pulled out their small digital devices and saw a new e-mail appear. Gwen held her Blackberry out so everyone could see it as she clicked on the file. The file opened and the group the image of a dark blue humanoid with metal plated skin, a red crest on the back of his cranium, a bright green skull like emblem on his chest, his eyes had green irises and red pupils and yellow claws extended from his knuckles like Wolverine.

"Whoa man. That's what a computer virus looks like?" Cody gulped. "Looks a little scary."

The others had to agree as Megabyte did look intimidating by their standards and they gone up against digital monsters, generals, Shadow, and faced even XANA's Avatar itself. Megabyte's intimidating features was almost rivaled by XANA who was able to look sinister even with a human avatar and Shadow in his demonic 'super' form.

**Name: Megabyte**

**Format: Virus**

**Type: Originally Class Three File Infector – Upgraded to Class Four Trojan Horse Virus**

**Abilites:**

**Subject has shown to have enhanced physical strength, super agility and reflexes and the ability to jump great distances. Claws extending from his knuckles able to cut through almost any armor and allows him to climb high walls or mountains in or out of a game. Subject comes with classic viral infection, able to infect sprites and binomes through their PIDs but only if the PIDs are not designed to counter viral infection. Subject has showed the ability to copy the Read-Only Memory files of System Administrator Phong when he could not infect him as well as store important systems codes and files.**

**Subject was later upgraded, gaining Trojan Horse Viral Capacities allowing him the ability to disguise himself as other formats by copying or taking a sample of someone's code allowing to mimic their appearance, voice, and even allows him to Reboot in games. Subject's original functions seem to have been enhanced with his upgrade but no additional data other than the report sent by Guardian 452 have been recorded.**

**Personality:**

**All reports conclude that subject has an enhanced calculating thought process making him dangerously intelligent allowing him to form well thought out plans to infect systems or reach the Super Computer. Upon arriving in Mainframe he infected the population of Mainframe's industrial sector, Ghetty Prime allowing him to use the resources in the sector to construct anything he wants or needs to expand his control over the system. Subject has shown to be highly cunning and devious when he turned on the Mainframers during the Web War and sent Guardian 452 into the Web before the portal was closed. He has no sense of morality and will torture anyone who has something he needs to expand his control.**

**This Virus is considered extremely dangerous so to any Guardians who encounter him deletion is authorized.**

"Oh maaan! This guy sounds worse than some of the Generals!" Geoff swallowed. "I'm suddenly glad I can't go in there, man."

"Well he doesn't need powers to pound on us from the sound of it," Duncan nodded. "…Who votes we have Aelita fight him?"

"Hey, you're the one with the super powered Berserker form!" Courtney said. "Why don't you fight him? You're the big strong brave punk!"

"…I was reaaally hoping the lack of Mohawk would make you forget that," Duncan sighed. "Okay, okay…if I get a chance, and we meet this guy, I'll see if I can go Berserker on him and kick his ass."

"But he also sounds really smart," Noah said. "I wouldn't count on just pounding him when he can outsmart you."

"I guess I'm next." Courtney held up her PDA and opened the file labeled 'Virus'.

**Format: Virus**

**Place of Origin: The Net**

**Background:**

**A dangerous type of format to anyone or System in the Net Viruses are dangerous, destructive, and will destroy anything or anyone that stands in their way. A Virus is created by the User or as many people theorized many Users for various reasons but the common goal of a Virus is to infect and destroy without permission or knowledge of whatever System they arrive. It is common for a Virus to enter a System through a type of download, like an upgrade or a Virus will sneak into a System through a portal from the Net. Viruses usually possess numerous powers and physical strength making too dangerous for most Binomes and Sprites.**

**Since their first sighting there have been numerous types of Viruses that have a different kind of function.**

**Example 1: File Infectors and most other viruses that serve to infect and corrupt are what we call Control Viruses designed to take control of Systems and people**

**Example 2: Chaotic Viruses are programmed to cause chaos by creating malfunctions in the System**

**Example 3: Destruction Virus are designed to destroy any System they enter**

**There are classification numbers for Viruses from one to five that base them on their powers. Levels One to Three type viruses present enhanced physical strength and speed with special powers and abilities that unique to what type of Virus they are. Class Four and Five Viruses are considered Super Viruses due to the fact they all possess the highest level energy reserves of all known Viruses and are seen as a direct threat to the entire Net, not just single Systems. They are all capable of infecting Sprites and Binomes to serve them, making them Virals. **

**Viruses do not reproduce like Sprites and Binomes, instead they receive an upgrade or downgrade from the User that created them. When this happens the Virus takes on a new appearance, new name and has little memory of their previous forms. Scientists consider the previous Virus the parent of the new Virus who is the offspring or the next generation. Users and system defenses have made progress in creating weapons and devices designed to erase Viruses however they are considered to be very cunning and will often avoid Viral Scans that will delete them if detected.**

**Viruses are considered to be among the most dangerous inhabitants of the Net and should they be encountered exercise caution and alert the authorities or Guardians immediately. **

"…mommy!" DJ squeaked. "I seriously hope that we don't end up materializing one of these things along the way!"

"We are taking a big risk by setting up a continuous mode of transport between Lyoko and the Net." Noah pointed out.

"Here's another one: XANA bringing forth an army of viruses his own way." Gwen pointed out.

"…I withdraw my statement." Noah sighed.

"They sound tough; you think they're tougher than XANA's monsters and generals?" Bridgette asked.

"Even if they aren't as strong if XANA upgrades them than they could be just as dangerous as the Generals." Gwen sighed. "This is bigger than any of the previous attacks."

"Don't forget Gwen, we've got the most advanced Supercomputer on the planet with kick ass powers. I'm sure we can handle these viruses, besides it's only Megabyte we're after right?" Cody asked, looking up from his laptop.

"Jinx thy name is Cody." Noah groaned.

"I thought there already was a Jinx. You know, the one working for XANA?" Izzy asked.

"Cody, there's no way XANA would stop with just one System; since Tom said Mainframe is a small system. If the Net is as big as he claims then…I think we all know XANA's plan here." Aelita explained.

"Thousands of people, both real and digital are in danger this time." LeShawna said grimly. "And I'm still stuck out here."

"Megabyte most likely was just the beginning. Complete access to the Net, under XANA's control …This could be an even bigger problem than we can imagine." Aelita said. "And to be honest, I think we're walking into a trap here."

"What makes you say that?" Heather asked.

"XANA could have taken Tom out in the Digital Sea but he activated a tower that led Tom here instead. XANA doesn't make a mistake that big unless he had a reason to spare Tom."

"He lured Tom to us, but why? Why would he want to let us know what he's up to?" Bridgette asked.

"He knows that if we want to stop whatever he's doing in the Net we have to go through the Hub. That's what I think he's waiting for. If Megabyte is the beginning and there are more Viruses..." Aelita stopped but everyone knew what she was saying.

XANA could be gathering an army of Viruses along with his already formidable army of digital monsters and generals. Soon enough the Warriors would likely be outnumbered by an army strong enough to not only invade the Net and Lyoko but maybe even the real world.

"If there was ever a time we absolutely needed to do something crazy this is it." Gwen nodded. "We joined up because XANA was threatening the entire planet. I guess that includes digital people too."

"Let's do it!" Izzy laughed.

Xxx

Tom had been listening in on the conversation between Lyoko Users and felt a bit of worry and hope. He was worried that this XANA may succeed where Daemon had failed; destroy the entire Net. But he was hopeful they could find a way to stop XANA, Megabyte, and perhaps any other threats that might be involved in this conspiracy. Any more thoughts were cut off as Dac started beeping, catching his attention.

"What is it, Dac?" Tom saw Dac created a radar screen that detected…

"Viruses?!" Tom exclaimed as the tower shook. "Aelita, we have a problem!"

He ran out in time to see not one, not two, but _six_ viruses in front of him.

"Ohhhh, FAQ!" Tom gasped. "Aelita, I need some backup!"

Xxx

"Tom, what is?" Aelita picked up the headset.

_"Viruses, six of them! Right in front of me!"_

"Bringing up visual," Aelita projected the image in place of Lyoko's map to the group.

"Oh man!" Cody exclaimed. "Those are viruses!"

"Six of them in Lyoko, huh? I smell a digital rat." Duncan said.

"No time for the wit, Duncan. Fire up the scanners, Aelita!" Gwen said as they headed for the elevator.

Xxx

Tom was crouched behind a rock as the six viruses closed in on him. One of them was a massive frog like creature with armored flesh and multiple eyes. It cackled as a long tongue shot out of its mouth and snatched up the rock Tom was using as cover. It swallowed it whole and then spat out a stream of smaller rocks which it had reduced the rock to.

Tom jumped out of the way as a female virus with like light blue smooth skin, seven long blue tentacles on her head for hair, dark blue chest armor and a helmet covering her eyes, and a fish like tail in place of her feet charged at him with a trident ready to skewer him.

"Dac, grapple!" Dac fired a grappling hook that pulled him out of the way in.

A virus with dark skin, long bat like wings on his back like Shadow's demonic form, claws on his hands and feet and a long tail flew at him and cut the grapple easily. Lucky for Tom he landed on a cliff instead of the Digital Sea. Waiting for him was a virus resembling a Minotaur that was larger than Chef Hatchet ready to stomp on him with its large feet.

"Dac, energy pulse!" Tom aimed and fired a blast of energy that hit the Minotaur virus.

However it didn't hurt the virus but only dazed him.

"Child's play." A voice behind him said, making him turn around.

Another one of the six viruses floated in the air above him, looking more humanoid than the other virus but very intimidating. He had long black hair that was braided and moved around him like a snake, gray skin, his face was pale with demonic red eyes, and wore a long red and black robe making him almost like he was from a rich and noble family. When he opened his mouth it split open and revealed two pinchers and a tongue that had a sharp spike on the end.

"Allow me." The vampire virus leveled a clawed hand at Tom and the Guardian was blasted back by a telekinetic blast that sent him flying past the Minotaur virus and into a boulder.

Tom groaned, thankful that his armor absorbed the blow but he had no time to recover as another virus grabbed him. This virus was largest and fattest of the viruses, a green misshapen body that was about the size of a house with small arms and legs, a wide mouth with sharp teeth and a long big tongue. It was bald with no hair and white blank eyes.

"Hmmm…a Guardian, yummy!" The virus said, its voice sounding female.

She opened her mouth and her tongue rolled as she dangled Tom above the gaping maw. Just as she let go and let him fall into her mouth…

"Incoming!" A blue blur grabbed Tom in the air and he saved him at the very last second.

"Wha-"The virus closed her mouth but felt nothing.

She turned looked to see Tom on Bridgette's surfboard as the surfer landed softly on the ground and the rest of the Lyoko Warriors gathered around them.

"So these are viruses?" Trent aimed his guitar at them. "Wow, do they all look this scary?"

"Most of them." Tom held up Dac. "These viruses are strong; the energy readings coming off them are consistent with Class Three and Four Viruses."

"Great." Noah's hands turned into guns. "Well, here's the chance to find out how strong they are."

"Who are these sprites?" The Mermaid virus snarled.

"Who cares, let's slice them to bits." The Gargoyle virus grinned as he stretched his wings.

"Guess XANA wants to test his new thugs." Gwen pulled out her scythe.

"Oh, you know of _him_." The Vampire virus floated in the air above them. "I know there was a reason he sent us out here. I don't know what he wants in an empty system like this but regardless we shall destroy all in our way."

"I'll squish them for taking my meal!" The green fat Blob like virus grinned.

"Just one of us will be enough for these brats." The Frog virus chuckled. "Time to break some code."

"In more ways than one!" The Minotaur virus stomped forward.

"There's no way we can win. A single Class Three is a match for a full team of Guardians and a Class Four's energy capabilities is a match for an entire system." Tom grimaced.

"So we take them on one at a time." Aelita stepped forward. "How about it? No need to waste all your time on us."

"And why would we do that? Viruses never play fair." The Gargoyle virus chuckled.

"I wasn't thinking of fair." Aelita smirked and held out her hand. "Plasma Beam!"

A beam of light blasted from her hand and slammed into the Blob virus, earning a cry from her as the beam knocked her down but did not delete her. Aelita believed that the Plasma Beam would have destroyed her which either meant the virus was strong enough to survive an attack meant to take down XANA's generals or XANA upgraded them to withstand her energy attacks. The viruses seemed to realize she was stronger than she looked as they looked at her more wary. The Mermaid Virus charged at her, her fish tail moving her towards Aelita faster than any normal human but Aelita was not defenseless.

Trent landed in front of her and played the Shield Note, creating a barrier that blocked the Mermaid's trident. Gwen flew in and swung her scythe down but the Mermaid virus raised her trident and blocked Gwen's scythe just in time. The Mermaid's tentacle like hair grabbed Gwen by her arms and held her up with her arm above her head. She prepared to stab Gwen with her Trident when Bridgette slammed into her chest on her surfboard. The Mermaid virus skidded back across the rocky platform they were on as Bridgette's board split into her swords.

"Pick on one of us you get all of us!" Bridgette declared.

"Hmmm…." The Vampire virus looked at the assembled sprites. "Perhaps there is more to this system than meets the eye."

"Enough talking, more stomping!" The Minotaur virus said as he charged at the Lyoko Warriors and Tom.

"Sick em, Izzy!" Heather pointed at the Minotaur.

"HI-YA-YA-YA!" Izzy charged at the Minotaur virus.

The Minotaur snorted as the orange haired girl jumped at him…and watched as Izzy transformed into a rhino and slammed into his chest, knocking him on his back. Aelita activated her wings and flew into the air, firing a Plasma Beam from both hands at the Vampire and Gargoyle viruses. They dodged by flying out of the way and the Vampire flew up and floated a few feet away from Aelita.

"Interesting, you are not like any sprite I have seen before." The Vampire observed.

"I get that a lot. Tell me, why are you here?" Aelita leveled her hand at the Vampire.

"To fulfill my function which is none of your concern. Today the Vampire will devour the Angel."

"Unless the bat gets her first!" The Gargoyle Virus flew at Aelita but a rock flew up and slammed into him.

He screeched as he fell out of the air and crashed onto the platform.

"At least that vampire doesn't sparkle." Gwen commented as she deactivated her Earth Aura.

The Gargoyle looked up at her and growled as he stood up.

"That was your last mistake." He held out his hands and showed her his razor sharp claws.

The Blob and Frog Viruses stared down the last Lyoko Warriors and Tom. Trent, Heather, and Noah pointed their weapons at them while Duncan and Courtney held their weapons out.

"Both of them are Armored Viruses, carries extra protection against all known anti-virus weapons. The amount of protection these two have is ridiculous, they might as well be wearing a fire wall." Tom used Dac to scan the viruses. "I've never seen an upgrade so powerful."

"That's XANA for you, hands out upgrades to naughty viruses when they've been nasty and evil." Noah commented. "He's like the evil digital version of Santa Claus."

"The protection against anti-viral weapons is strong, I don't know of anything in the Supercomputer that can delete them."

"Well, than we do it the old fashioned way. Hit'em hard!" Duncan shouted.

Lasers, shuriken, lightning, and a stream of green fire slammed into the two large viruses as they advanced towards them.

"Dac, energy blaster!" Tom pointed and his keytool fired a barrage of energy blasts to help the Lyoko Users.

However it didn't do much as the two armored viruses marched through the barrage of energy blasts as they neared the Warriors and Guardian.

"Scatter!" Courtney shouted as the Frog virus raised one giant paw to squish them.

They jumped out of the way as the paw slammed into the ground and left a very large imprint on the ground. The Frog virus laughed his multiple eyes watched the Lyoko Warriors scatter.

"You cannot hide from me, I see everything!"

"The Guardian is mine!" The Blob virus stomped towards Tom.

"Not quite!" Noah ran forward and phased into the Blob.

She started thrashing and screaming while her eyes flashed between red and Noah's eyes until finally Noah was sent flying out of the virus. Luckily Tom caught him before he slid into the Digital Sea.

"You okay?" Tom asked as he put Noah down.

"Yeah, stupid idea." Noah grumbled.

"You'll pay that! I am going to gobble both of you up!" The Blob virus screeched and stomped towards them.

"Fine by me. I have some bugs to squash." The Frog virus turned to the scatter warriors. "Now, who's first?"

Aelita fired an Energy Field but the Vampire virus fired a dark energy beam that cancelled out her attack and continued towards Aelita. She flew out of the way and fired two more Energy Fields but a dark energy barrier appeared around the Vampire and blocked the attack.

"Wasteful tactics." The Vampire commented. "You cannot hope to defeat me like this. Behold my unlimited power!"

He raised his hands and rocks were lifted into the air from below and floated around the Vampire. He thrust his arms forward and they flew at Aelita like speeding bullets. Aelita quickly created two energy fields and fused them to make an energy shield to block the rocks but they slammed into her shield so hard she was sent flying back.

"In this contest the strong always prevails." The Vampire grinned.

Bridgette jumped back as the Mermaid swung her trident and almost sliced her in half. Bridgette jumped forward and slammed both swords into the Mermaid's trident, hoping to knock her off balance but Mermaid easily blocked her strike and pushed forward, sending Bridgette flying back.

"You cannot hope to defeat me, little sprite. Not even the Guardians are a match for me." The Mermaid laughed. "Had enough?"

"You wish." Bridgette's wave tattoos glowed and she released her Wave shaped energy blast.

The Mermaid raised her trident to block but the energy blast destroyed the trident and slammed into her chest. She was sent sliding back into a boulder so hard it cracked into two.

"Had enough?" Bridgette got ready as the Mermaid got back up.

"You wish." The Mermaid charged at her.

The fish tail somehow allowed her to move faster than an ordinary human and Bridgette had to jump out of the way as the Mermaid tried to grab her head and slam her into the ground. Bridgette combined her swords into her board and she took off into the air, knowing she was not very good being athletic on land and was more of a surfer on the ocean. She flew around the platform as the Mermaid stared up at her with a snarl, thinking of ways to get her.

The Minotaur snarled as it threw the tiger Izzy off of him and got back up. The orange haired shape shifted changed back into her human form in mid air and landed on her feet. The Minotaur tried to smash her with his fists but Izzy transformed into a small bird and flew out of the way. The Minotaur tried to grab her but she was too small and too fast for his large hands.

"Hold still!" The Minotaur roared.

"Here comes Izzy-Zilla! HEAR ME ROAR!" Izzy flew above him and transformed again.

The Minotaur looked up to see Izzy in her Tyrannosaurus Rex form fall on him and knocked him onto the ground again. Izzy started biting down on the Minotaur's skin, earning a cry as he tried to push her off. He knocked her off with a swing his large fist and sent her flying back. Izzy transformed into a bird again and kept flying to avoid the massive fists and feet as they tried to crush her. She kept changing into different animals, big and small and kept the Minotaur off balanced as he tried to fight back.

The Gargoyle virus slammed Gwen into the ground and flew back into the air as Gwen tried to slice him in half with her scythe. He wrapped his tail around Gwen's arm and took off again, pulling the spell caster with him as he towards a rock and let go, watching as she flew high speed towards the rock. Gwen however was able to place her feet in front of her and they slammed into the rock, absorbing the shock and she activated her Fire Aura as she pointed her left hand at the Gargoyle. A stream of fire erupted from her hand but the Gargoyle easily dodged her attack.

"Too slow!" The Gargoyle laughed as he flew in a circle above the spell caster. "The sky of the Net is my domain!"

Gwen growled but forcefully closed her eyes as she began to think of strategies that would help her knock that flying rat out of the sky. The simplest idea came to her and she smirked up at the winged virus. "Come and get me you flying rodent!"

The Gargoyle growled and spread his wings out as he dove down the air towards her. Gwen inhaled, activated her green Wind Aura and exhaled. The Gargoyle was blown back by a powerful gust that slammed into him and sent him spiraling through the air out of control. He screamed as he slammed head first into a rocky wall so hard he left cracks as he slid down. He staggered to his feet, rubbing his head as he looked up. "You'll pay for tha-"

He was cut off as a pillar of stone came out of the ground and slammed into his chest, knocking him into the wall so hard he made a hole this time, thanks to Gwen's Earth Aura. He flew into the other side of the wall in a cave and fell down. He got back up and saw Gwen enter the cave through the hole in the wall. He snarled and spread his wings as he flew at her. "DIE!"

Gwen activated her Fire Aura as she swung her scythe and sliced through the Gargoyle's right arm and wing. The virus screamed in pain as he flew over Gwen and skidded across the ground as he flew outside of the cave. He held his smoking stump of an arm as he saw Gwen come out.

"What the Dell are you?" The Gargoyle gulped.

"The one who kicked your ass." Gwen smirked as her Earth Aura activated.

The Gargoyle tried to take off but his right wing had been damaged and he was barely up to life off the ground. It didn't matter as a large boulder slammed into him, too fast for him now that his ability to fight had been crippled. It knocked him off the platform and sent him into the Digital Sea. He screamed before he hit the Digital Sea with a huge splash. He tried to swim but he found out the hard way that when a digital being hits the Digital Sea the energy and code decompiles their data and scatters it across the Internet as his body disintegrated into streams of data and vanished.

"One down." Gwen nodded.

The Frog virus stomped after Heather, Duncan, and Courtney down a rocky path away from the platform where the other battles were being fought. The Frog grabbed big rocks he saw with his tongue and hurled them at the three Warriors but the one good thing about being contestant on Total Drama and Lyoko Warrior was that you learn to run pretty fast or you would get hurt very badly.

"Okay, how do we fry this toad?" Duncan asked as they ran.

"Well, Tom said he is an armored virus meaning he's got extra protection, including defenses against our attacks." Heather explained. "So we need a way past that armor."

"It's not like I can go Berserker and break through the armor." Duncan looked behind him to see the Frog was still chasing them.

"No…but there is a way inside. Heather, we need a distraction." Courtney said.

"Why me?"

"Just do it!" Courtney shouted. "You can hide when we're ready!"

"If it wasn't for this Lyoko thing…" Heather muttered as she stopped running and faced the Frog while the other two kept running.

She'd be lying if she said she wasn't a little afraid of the large frog like monster that towered over her.

"Aw, sacrificing yourself for your friends?" The Frog laughed.

"As if." Heather activated her Invisibility ability and she faded from the Frog's sight.

"Hmmm…A Hidden File Command?" The Frog looked around. "Clever, but the nanosecond you appear I'll be ready."

"Ready for this?" Heather reappeared too close to the Frog and extended her wrist blades.

Before the Frog could do anything she stabbed one of its multiple eyes with her wrist blades and smirked as the Frog let out a scream. She turned invisible again as the Frog raised its paw to smash her.

"WHERE ARE YOU?! I'LL CHEW YOU UP AND SPIT OUT WHAT'S LEFT YOU!" The Frog roared.

Heather reappeared again and fired a shuriken at another eye, earning another cry of pain before disappearing again. Unlike most other digital avatars Heather's character was a stealth type character, specializing in quick attacks rather than long drawn out battle and using her agility and invisibility to avoid attacks. Meanwhile Duncan and Courtney took cover behind a rock and watched the fight.

"You can always count on Heather to piss somebody off." Duncan commented.

"All right, if this virus has extra protection we need extra fire power." Courtney focused back on the plan.

"I like where this is going." Duncan smirked.

"So I use my Giving Ability to power up your Berserker Form and see if that will break the armor." Courtney explained.

"Just how much power?"

"Well, the Blob survived Aelita's Plasma Beam so I'll probably need to give you more than half my life points to power up your attack power. Probably more."

"All right, your plan." Duncan shrugged.

Courtney put her hand on Duncan's shoulder and began channeling her life points into him, increasing his attack power until she only had twenty life points left.

"Let's do it." Duncan rushed out from behind the rock and charged at the Frog.

The Frog had been trying to smash Heather when he spotted Duncan charging him through one of eyes Heather had not damaged.

"A deletion wish? Fine by me!" The Frog opened his mouth and his tongue came out.

It grabbed Duncan and pulled him into the Frog's mouth.

"Hmmm, tastes like a street null." The Frog chuckled but groaned a second later. "Why….is….there…burning?!"

He screamed as green fire blasted out of his mouth. He fell over screaming in pain as he was literally being burned from the inside. His skin started to crack open showing data lines underneath just as he let out one final scream. An explosion of green fire burned his body and when the explosion ended the Berserker stood where the Frog had been leaving a huge scorch mark on the ground.

**"Too spicy…"**

"Come back here!" The Blob tried to grab Noah and Tom but they jumped out of the way.

Tom fired another energy blast from Dac but the Blob shrugged off the blast as she turned towards the Guardian.

"Oh spam!" Tom took off running with the Blob on his tail.

Noah was watching this as Blob tried to pick Tom up and eat him when he got an idea. He took off running and ran beside Tom with Blob chasing them.

"What are you doing?!" Tom exclaimed. "You want to get eaten?!"

"Nah, I'd give her indigestion, I got an idea so play along." Noah said as he ran a little faster with Tom keeping up.

They ran to the very edge and turned to see the Blob laugh as she closed in and cut off any chance of their escape.

"I'm waiting for the plan." Tom whispered as the Blob towered over them.

"Hang on…" Noah got ready.

"Nowhere to run now!" The Blob reached down to grab them.

Noah grabbed Tom and phased down the ground before the Blob could grab them.

"Huh?"

Behind her they came out of the ground with Tom gasping in shock.

"Quick, take out the edge!" Noah pointed forward.

"Dac, high level energy beam!" Tom pointed and Dac unleashed a beam of energy.

It hit the ground and started cutting through it as the Blob started to turn around. Tom worked as fast as he could as he directed the energy beam from the left to the right side of cliff as the Blob stomped towards them. But her weight added to their favor as the cliff broke apart from the mainland and fell towards the Digital Sea. The Blob screamed as she fell back and went down with cliff. She made a huge splash in the Digital Sea and she was never seen again.

"That was a good plan." Tom said.

"I am that good." Noah smirked.

Bridgette dodged as the Mermaid catapulted herself into the air and tried to grab her but Bridgette dodged easily. When she was on her surfboard in the ocean or in the sky of Lyoko she was in her element and was able to dodge almost anything. The Mermaid used her tail to catapult herself into the air to try and grab Bridgette but the surfer was too fast to be caught. Bridgette knew this was temporary solution.

The virus was stronger, faster, and more skilled than she was, almost as dangerous as XANA's Generals but the viruses were in a league of their own. If she wanted to take this virus out she needed to think outside the box like almost all the Warriors do during a XANA attack. She flew down towards the Mermaid just as she was ready to jump at the surfer again. She jumped into air, roaring as she raised her hands to grab Bridgette but at the last second the surfer jumped onto the end of her board, tipping up. The Mermaid slammed into the board, knocking them both onto the ground but Bridgette split her board into her swords and threw them at the Mermaid while she was stunned.

She looked just in time as both swords pierced her chest armor and went through her digital heart, if viruses even had anything close to being considered a heart. She let out a gasp as she fell over and her body vanished in a flash of light. Bridgette walked over to her swords and picked them, looking down at where the virus had been. That had been a very intense fight, even for someone who had faced down the minions of XANA.

Izzy crashed into a wall; she had been an Ox and shifted back into her human form as she fell to the ground. Despite her speed and unpredictability her opponent, the Minotaur virus was much stronger than her, shrugging off almost all physical blows and didn't react to her explosive arrows.

"What's the matter, little sprite? Out of energy?" The Minotaur laughed as he raised his fist and sent it down to crush her.

Izzy rolled out of the way and transformed into a fly. The Minotaur growled as he looked around for the annoying shape shifter but Izzy had come with a devious idea. As the Minotaur scanned the area for her she quietly flew up to his ear. She landed on him and changed back into her human form.

"HI!" Izzy screamed into the Minotaur's ear, earning a cry of pain from the virus as he fell over in shock.

Izzy changed into a tiger and bit down on the Minotaur's head just as the he threw her off him. Izzy changed into a triceratops and charged forward. The Minotaur was still in shock from Izzy's sneak attack and only got the chance to see Izzy slammed into him and knocked him over. Despite Izzy outsmarting him she still couldn't defeat him because he kept getting back up.

Not that Izzy cared; she was having too much fun. The Minotaur finally had enough of this and let out a roar and charged at Izzy as she changed back into her human form.

"Toro! Toro! No cape but will this do?" Izzy pointed down at her dress.

The Minotaur didn't answer as he tried stomp her to death but Izzy dove through his legs and started running. The Minotaur turned and chased after her.

"Toro! Toro!" Izzy stopped and waved both of her hands.

The Minotaur growled as he charged at her like a real bull and Izzy jumped and somersaulted through the air, landing on the Minotaur's back.

"Let's see how you drive this thing!" Izzy landed on the Minotaur's head and pulled at his horns.

The Minotaur tried to shack her off by jumping and running around the platform and when it didn't work he rolled onto his back to squish her. Izzy jumped off and landed on the edge of the cliff.

"Come on, act like a real bull! Free shot!" Izzy turned her back to the virus and waved her butt at him.

The Minotaur had been enraged beyond the point of rational thought as he only could think of deleting this annoying sprite once and for all. He roared and charged at her like a speeding race car. Izzy waited until the last second and jumped off the edge with the Minotaur after her but that was his last mistake. Izzy changed into a monkey and grasped the edge while the Minotaur jumped off into the Digital Sea.

The Minotaur let out one final roar before he hit the Digital Sea and vanished.

The Vampire virus looked down and saw that its comrades had all been deleted by the other sprites.

"Impossible…" He trailed off as he stared at Aelita who had another Energy Field ready.

They had all received upgrades that made too powerful for any Guardian to stop them yet these sprites… He turned to Aelita and prepared another energy blast but Aelita had already come up with a plan win. She had seen how powerful this virus was; having high energy reserves and abilities but Aelita was more than prepared. She let out a song, using her Creativity to increase the power of own Plasma Beam as she fired.

The Vampire virus unleashed his own energy beam to finish Aelita off and was absolutely flabbergasted as the Plasma Beam powered through his own energy attack like it was nothing.

"Looks like the Angel defeats the Vampire today!" Aelita called out.

"NO!" The Vampire tried to move but was too slow and the beam of light engulfed him, incinerating his body.

The Vampire screamed for the next two seconds before Aelita stopped her attack and there was nothing left.

"Amazing." Tom looked at the Lyoko Warriors as they gathered.

The energy from those six viruses ranged from Class Three to Four and even then they had incredibly high level abilities that made Tom doubt he could have survived. Yet, these sprites, these Users not only took on six viruses and survived but they won also! Tom shook his head as he laughed quietly.

Who knew that he'd be fighting viruses alongside Users? If anyone had told him that this would happen he'd recommend they go to a Defragmentation Center for help. This was something he had never considered happening, ever.

"Well, this answers the question of whether or not we can take on viruses." Bridgette commented.

"Just like fighting XANA's minions." Gwen smirked. "I'd say we're ready get this show started.

"_You guys are in luck. The hangar is ready and I've launched the Skid Creation program. We'll be ready in just a few minutes._"

"That lo…Whoa, right. Time difference." Tom said. "What should we do?"

"Tom, I think you should get a tour of Lyoko while we wait. Give you something to show the folks back home." Aelita smiled.

"Let's go to the Swamp first so I can show him how I catch flies." Izzy laughed.

Tom could only shake his in amusement as he wondered what else would happen.


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything belonging to Code: Lyoko, Total Drama, or Reboot. Code Lyoko is Property of Moonscoop, Reboot is the property of Mainframe Entertainment and Total Drama is the property of Fresh TV.**

Xxx

Chapter 12

**Mainframe**

Mainframe was beginning to look a lot more like Megaframe from the alternate reality but with Dot and the Core Control Chamber under his control Megabyte had almost gained complete control with the rebels being reduced to hit and run attacks on Megabyte's patrol groups, trying to gain recourses and a way to slip into the Principal Office. Matrix usually led these attacks by himself but had Bob with him to get the renegade out of trouble. Like right now as Matrix attacked an industrial center in G-Prime and was right now running from viral troops shooting at him. Three ABCs flew behind him in attack formation as he ran down the street, avoiding laser shots while firing behind him.

Matrix glanced over his shoulder and saw the ABCs gaining on him. Just as he was about to turn and shoot at them an energy blast shot and blasted the lead ABC and caused the other two to crash into it. Looking up Matrix watched as Bob landed on the ground and hopped his zip board.

"I take things went well." Bob asked, surveying the ruined street.

"Yeah, the building's gone meaning Megabyte will have to get his new weapon supplies elsewhere." Matrix nodded and holstered his Gun.

"Won't take him long, at best another cycle will be all it takes for him to get another supply line set up." Bob pointed out.

"Yeah, I know. He has us running around out here distracting us from the real target." Matrix growled. "Any idea how to get through his security?"

"It's too tight, even if we have enough man power. Megabyte keeps on cutting off our resources and setting up his own to force us to hit them from keeping him getting more power." Bob shook his head. "He's got eyes on all the streets so anyone spotted wandering are taken to the Principal Office. Maybe AndrAIa or Mouse have an idea."

Meanwhile inside the Principal Office Megabyte had already set up his own throne room in the Great Hall like before with curtains hanging from the dark blue walls showing his viral logo. His throne was made of the bodies of dead binomes and Vid-Windows allowed him to observe the city.

"Ah, this is what I had imagined all this time, sitting here, watching over the city I had found myself trapped in for so long. It was nothing less than everything I had envisioned; only now I could care less." Megabyte chuckled. "Who now in this system has the power to challenge me…Or the monster unleashed onto the Net?"

He tapped a switch and a Vid-Window appeared in front of him showing the Web. Ever since Cyberspace came into existence the Net and Web have existed as complete opposites to each other, Order and Chaos. The Net existed to be the personification of order and unity, bringing together billions of digital beings who lived the system that made up the Net. The Web was Chaos that was the only way to describe it, a dimension that represented the digital version of Hell.

Sprites trapped would degrade into monstrous looking beings who could never return to their homes and be forced to wander the degraded dimension. No one dared to go into the Web and the few that did almost never returned. That was what made it the perfect place for XANA to set up his base of operations. A large landmass, too big to be native to the Web remained stationary as Web Creatures flew around to see this new object in their home. On top of the land mass was a palace looking clean and new, not at all degraded like everything else was in the Web.

"Do the Guardians believe that they can challenge a power they have never seen before? That same power that allowed me to capture this insignificant system less than a second?" Megabyte grinned as he studied the fortress. "And what will happen when the armies of XANA descend upon them? Will the great Guardians be able to 'mend and defend'?"

It was dark and in the center of the castle was a tall tower and at the pinnacle of the tower he could see the Eye of XANA imprinted on it.

"I almost feel sorry for them…But it will be a sight to see." Megabyte chuckled.

Xxx

**Somewhere in the Web**

Inside the palace XANA had created in the Web monsters, mostly Dragon Knights walked through the palace, some were guarding while others carried equipment to continue their master's plan. Inside the tower at the highest floor was a giant hall with a set of stairs leading up to a throne were the head general, Lilith sat comfortably.

"I could get used to this idea of 'ruling'." Lilith mumbled.

In front of her was a holographic map of the Net, the digital realm XANA planned to conquer. As Head General of XANA's forces Lilith was in charge of directing all operations in the Net and the building the army XANA was creating. Right now, even with Megabyte and the other viruses XANA had recruited they were still not strong enough to take over the Net and defeat the Guardians. XANA created the new fortress he had named Avalon and built it in the Web itself when he was able to slip through all the programs needed to create the fortress.

However since XANA himself could not cross over he relied on his generals and the viruses to carry out his plans.

"_Mistress._"

Lilith looked down to see a Dragon Knight kneeling down before her. "Report."

"_The Machine is ninety percent complete; production will start in a cycle._" The Dragon Knight reported.

"Good, finish it and start as soon as it is ready." Lilith smirked.

"_Yes Mistress._" The Knight bowed and walked out of the chamber.

The holographic screen switched from a map of the Net to something else. The sound of gears was heard and Lilith watched as red eyes opened in the darkness of the chamber.

'It has begun.'

The sound of gears grinding was heard as monsters came off the assembly line and organized themselves into ranks in a giant courtyard outside that was luckily protected by an energy shield to keep them from degrading. The army was composed of almost every type of monster under XANA's command and even more were being created.

Xxx

**Lyoko**

**Sector 5**

After giving Tom a quick tour of Lyoko the Warriors had gathered in the hanger of the new Skid to see the new digital submarine. Tom fell to his knees when the transport dropped them in the Celestial Done.

"That was an experience." Tom shook his head. "Good thing I ate light before leaving."

"All right, this way." Aelita pointed out of the dome and led them out.

Walking through the blue maze until they came upon the elevator they stepped on and waited. The elevator took them into a darker blue room with a platform in the center holding the newly recreated Skidbladnir. It looked the same as the first one but the new one was bigger with an extra pod attached to the main body.

"So cool!" Izzy squealed as the elevator came up to the platform.

"Nice." Duncan looked impressed with the sub, especially the missile launchers.

"Okay, when I possessed that Blob virus for a second I saw a bit of what I think is XANA's plan. It turns out this Megabyte is only the start because I saw cities, cities that looked different from the pictures of Mainframe that Tom showed us. It looked like these viruses all got upgrades from some kind of monster that looked like those sharks that you dealt with in the Digital Sea Aelita." Noah explained, getting back on track. "They are going to systems infecting viruses and giving them upgrades."

"So we were right, XANA is assembling an army." Gwen spoke up.

"Worse, I know I stumbled onto something big before I was forced out but I know that there's more to building a giant army. Those cities were in ruins with their power drained from the looks of it." Noah looked to Tom. "What could drain an entire city of its power?"

"The only way that would happen is if the system was powered down from the core or the system was shutting down from the damage." Tom replied. "If a virus got into the core than its very possible that the system would be destroyed from the inside."

"No, it didn't look destroyed. The sky was black with red clouds, the cities were powering down, and the entire population was zombie like." Noah explained.

"Zombies!" Izzy exclaimed. "We're going to fight zombies?! All right!"

Tom stared at Izzy but Courtney just patted him in the shoulder. "Don't worry about her, she just gets really excited."

"So if the systems aren't being destroyed what is XANA doing with them?" Tom asked.

"I don't know, Tom, this is unknown territory even for me." Aelita replied. "All I can tell is that XANA is trying to build an army that he can use to conquer the Net and Lyoko, one that might be too powerful even for us to stop."

"So we better hurry and ruin it." Duncan said.

"All right, Trent, Heather, and Duncan go with Tom back to the Mountain Sector and get ready while the rest of us will take the Skid." Aelita said, wanting to get started.

"Whoo-Hoo!" Izzy shouted happily. "We are going to another universe! I can't wait!"

"Okay, we'll head back to the Celestial Dome." Duncan led Tom, Trent, and Heather onto the elevator. "Try not to leave without us."

The elevator went back down to the Core Zone, vanishing from the eyes of the others who stayed.

"Here we go." Aelita stepped on platform made up of one large white circle with four smaller circles attached to it. "Step onto platform and be ready."

Gwen, Courtney, Bridgette, and Noah stepped onto the four smaller ones. Izzy changed into a small lizard that sat on Bridgette's shoulders.

"_And, energize!_"

They all disappeared in a flash of light and reappeared inside their pods on the skid.

"Awesome!" Gwen grasped the controls.

"Izzy can't wait!" Izzy started making shooting sounds as she pretended to fire missiles as Bridgette sat in their pod. "Boom! Boom!"

A second later Courtney was teleported into her pod and she looked around. "This way too much like one of Harold's video games."

"At least the seats are comfy." Noah commented.

"Wait until we start moving, Courtney, that's when things go way beyond any video game." Aelita smiled as she activated the Skid.

The clamps holding the sub released it and the submarine floated out of the hangar.

"Bye bye!" Izzy waved as they flew out of the massive sphere that contained Sector 5.

"Whoa!" Gwen looked around as the submarine floated in the air. "I'm flashing back to how I was afraid the Jumbo Jet was going to explode."

"I already was afraid on the first episode. Come fly with us, come die with us." Noah sang the same lines on of the song he sang on the first episode of the third season.

The sub floated in the air above the digital sea.

"Diving in three….two….one!" Aelita pressed the controls forward.

The sub then dropped to the digital sea like a falling anvil.

"BBBBBBBBBBBAAAAAAAANNNNNNNZZ ZZZZAAAAAAAIIIIIII!" Izzy squealed.

SPLASH!

The sub plunged into the digital sea with a huge splash and continued to fall. Everyone except Aelita watched in awe as the Skid floated down until they could see the metallic ocean floor of the giant metal sphere that contained Lyoko. Tom's ship was already waiting for them showing that both ships were ready for the great journey. The Skid went down a hole in the center of the floor and for a moment everything was dark except for the lights in the cockpits.

"Opening the gate." Aelita announced as something opened up in front of the two digital ships.

They flew through the gate and everyone could see the upside down city that was the Digital Network.

"Wow." Gwen, Courtney, Bridgette said at the same time.

Noah let out a whistle. "Nice!"

"Ooooooooooohhhhhhhhh!" Izzy looked like a kid who had seen the world's largest ride.

"Everyone, welcome to the World Wide Network!" Aelita happily announced.

They looked at the city with so much awe that they almost didn't hear Aelita speaking to them.

"So this is the Internet?" Gwen asked after a moment.

"No, this is just a small part of it; the Internet is much larger than this." Aelita replied. "To be honest I don't know what it is supposed to look like. An entire digital universe out there that humanity created and they don't even know it."

"I can only imagine what they would think if they found out." Courtney said.

"Go crazy?" Noah asked.

"Maybe."

"So where are we going?" Gwen asked.

"The trip will take a while; the hub is located at the very edge of the city. I've never been there until Tom took me there and because the city is huge it we'll need to move as fast as possible. By the way, keep an eye on the water, if everything starts to glow red it'll mean that XANA's onto us and no doubt try to stop us." Aelita replied.

She then gripped both levers in her hands and pushed them forward, piloting the Skid forward through the upside down city.

Xxx

**Carbon Copy**

Aelita had an unnatural way of predicting the future when it came to the digital universe. For just as they set off in their journey towards the digital hub, the eyes of XANA's digital Avatar opened.

'They are coming.' XANA grinned. 'After all our battles, sending my monsters and my generals out it's time to see if Megabyte and his fellow Viruses have any better luck. It'll be definitely be a sight to behold.'

"Lilith."

A screen appeared in front of him showing Lilith's face. "Yes Master?"

"The Warriors are coming, just as predicted." XANA informed. "How goes the preparation?"

"Everything is proceeding as planned, Master XANA. We've been gaining power from all the captured system and the Machine is ninety percent complete." Lilith bowed her head.

"Excellent. Now all that matters is the situation with the Warriors and the Guardians." XANA nodded. "They will be following the Guardian back to Mainframe but they will have some difficulty getting there, even if Aelita is with them."

"Should we inform Megabyte?" Lilith asked.

"Not yet. We wouldn't want Megabyte to think we are actually letting our main enemies reach the Net, that might disrupt our schedule." XANA chuckled.

"We have eight Lyoko Warriors and one Guardian. Megabyte might be strong enough to go head to head with only of them at a time, except possibly for Aelita. He'll no doubt call for back up." Lilith pointed out.

"Then he shall have it." XANA waved a hand and a holographic map of the Net appeared in the center of his chamber. "We would not abandon an ally in his time of need, unlike humans. Megabyte has the Gateway Command so he can easily escape or bring in reinforcements from the Web. The key here is to bring the Warriors into an environment they are not adapted to fighting in, and then when the stage is set the curtain will fall for the last time. For now Lilith proceed as normal and leave Mainframe and the Warriors to me."

"Yes Master." Lilith bowed her head again.

The screen vanished leaving XANA alone with his thoughts.

'Sometimes you humans can be so predictable.' XANA smirked.

It didn't matter if they made it to the Net or not. XANA had enough time to ensure his plan would revolutionize both the Net and the Web and in the end a new world will rise.


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything belonging to Code: Lyoko, Total Drama, or Reboot. Code Lyoko is Property of Moonscoop, Reboot is the property of Mainframe Entertainment and Total Drama is the property of Fresh TV.**

Xxx

Chapter 13

"We ready?" AndrAIa whispered.

The rest of the team consisting of binomes and the hacker Mouse nodded while AndrAIa looked up at Bob who nodded in return.

"Glitch, power beam." Bob whispered.

The keytool activated its power beam function as Bob pointed up the sewer hatch.

"You sure this will work?" AndrAIa whispered to Mouse.

"Honey, if there's one thing I know about Megabyte is that he won't expect us to try one of his old tricks." Mouse whispered while keeping an eye out for virals.

They were all in the sewers, the Utility Tunnels just below the Principal Office where Bob was trying to drill a hole into the Archives. If they were successful they could gain access to an array of weapons and programs that could shift the battle in their favor. Despite the skills of the leading members of the Rebels, Megabyte had one ace in the hole: Dot.

With her under his control Megabyte not only had access to half of Mainframe's resources but he also had gained valuable intelligence such as the location of hidden bunkers Dot had set up just in case the Principal Office was lost again and the numerous supply depots that Dot had set up leaving the rebels low on weapons and forced to find a base of operations that Dot had not set up. A few had suggested Lost Angles since it was deserted now but others had pointed out that Lost Angles was too far outside the city for them to use, too far from where they could hide in the shadow and strike the virals before quickly retreat back into hiding. And if Megabyte ever found out through torture or infection he could just as easily blow up the island, perhaps a chance to say farewell to his sister and spite her at the same time. It was even worse than that because Dot's keen intellect combined with Megabyte's the rebels were low on numbers because Megabyte knew the names of everyone loyal to Dot outside of her closest friends and family allowing Megabyte to send out his troops to capture them even if some had avoided capture.

"I don't think they're on to us yet." AndrAIa whispered her senses on high alert for even the slightest sound outside of group. "There's a lot of activity going on up there though."

"Can Bob make it through that?" Mouse asked, gesturing up to the shaft above them were Bob was.

"Even if the security system is powered by the core Glitch should have enough power to blast a temporary hole through and let us slip through." AndrAIa replied. "But we'll have to be in and out fast before Megabyte figures it out."

"If we have enough time we can plug into the War Room remotely and shut down Megabyte's control." Mouse nodded.

"That's the plan."

"I got it!" Bob called down to them. "Hurry!"

Mouse and AndrAIa looked at the rest of the group composed of CPU officers who nodded and held their guns in ready position.

"We'll cover you." The lead officer said.

AndrAIa and Mouse nodded as they tossed out their Zip-boards and floated up to Bob who successfully created a gap in the security field surrounding the Archives.

"This won't last long and I'm sure we'll be noticed in a few nanos." Bob whispered.

"Plenty of time." Mouse replied as they flew up.

They flew up into a massive chamber with millions of Vid-windows showing different programs and functions vital to Mainframe.

"Okay, now all we need is to set a link here and we can send a whole lotta goods to our boys." Mouse said. "With a quick link we can crash Megabyte's party."

"Oh Mouse, am I that horrible a host?"

All three sprites stiffened and turned around to see a large Vid-Window showing Megabyte sitting on his 'throne' casually examining his claw/nails.

"Using one of my old schemes to break into the Archives, Bob? A clever idea, using the numerous programs stored in there to disrupt my control of the Principal Office." Megabyte looked up at them with a smirk. "Something _I_ would do. But sadly it looks like you _can't_ teach an old dog new tricks."

Screams were heard below the shaft the sprites had come out from as infected binomes came up on Zip-Boards and surrounded them.

"You knew we were coming?" Bob looked at the window.

"You're not as subtle as you think, Bob. Really with the lovely Miss Matrix incapacitated you now see if you can take over as the brains of the opposition? Such a role is beyond your capabilities, Guardian. You didn't think that with Miss Matrix under my control I would figure out that the Archives would remain out of my control since the security system wouldn't respond to a mere drone." Megabyte laughed and tapped a switch.

Vid-Windows appeared next to his, show their team moving through the sewers towards the Utility Tunnel under the Archives.

"Impressed? Miss Matrix had guessed that with your lack of weapons and supplies your little merry band of rebels would try to find some way to gain an advantage, such as breaking into the Archives." Megabyte chuckled. "But since you couldn't get past my security you would need to take the…unorthodox approach."

The viral binomes surrounding them laughed as they pointed their Staff weapons at the three sprites.

"And now…a fond farewell." Megabyte waved his hand.

But just as the virals prepared to fire and delete them a blast came out from below the same shaft, blasting a few infected binomes.

"Bob! AndrAIa! Mouse!" Matrix flew up, shooting the remaining virals and deleting them. "Let's go!"

The three sprits quickly flew down with Matrix through the same shaft they came out from. As they came back into the Utility Tunnel Matrix aimed his gun at the ceiling and fired creating a blast that sparked a cave in. The shaft leading up to the Archives was cut off from the rest of the tunnel making sure Megabyte could not send anymore of his troops into the Archives and gaining a bigger advantage.

But now the rebels had lost a big chance to gain an advantage.

"What happened? How did he figure out our plan?" AndrAIa asked as they flew down the sewers.

"At this point we have to believe either Megabyte has disguised himself as a rebel or he's got spies." Matrix replied.

"This is bad, really bad. We've had enough trouble with his shape shifting powers before." Bob grunted. "If he's found a way in…"

"Our group is compromised, even more so than we thought." Mouse finished.

"No help from the Guardians, no Dot, and no Archives." AndrAIa listed their situation. "I don't suppose anyone's got a plan."

"I say we let Megabyte come to us. If we can't find weapons we find more people and take the fight to him." Matrix said as they made a turn.

"But Matrix, you know Dot said…" Bob pointed out.

"Dot tried to take that monster down herself and look how that turned out! We can't play defense any longer or we're good as off line!" Matrix retorted. "I'm going to gather as many people I can find!"

"Matrix!" AndrAIa called out but Matrix flew ahead of them and vanished into the darkness of the sewers. "Stubborn Sprite."

"He's got a point. We're too small to be of any challenge to Megabyte." Mouse pointed out.

"You're not suggesting we ask the rest of the city to put itself on the line, are you?" AndrAIa turned to face Mouse.

"The city's already in danger so as long as that virus is sitting in the Principal Office. How can we do anything stuck like this?" Mouse shrugged.

"Asking people to risk themselves is against the Guardian Code." Bob spoke up. "Any life that's lost is too much, even if it's just one."

"Too bad Megabyte's not the compassionate and understanding type."

Xxx

"Oh well, once again they escaped." Megabyte sighed dramatically. "I guess that they would escape something like that, right Dot?"

He turned to the infected Dot who stood by his side like a statue. Megabyte grinned at the emotionless look on her face and the lack of fire in her now red pupils. He could only imagine how Bob, Matrix, even all of Mainframe must have felt when they saw their precious Dot, now a drone under his command. Megabyte had to stop himself from laughing out loud. Imagining the looks of sheer horror and heartbreak on their faces, it's almost as amusing as the wedding.

"Sir, we lost the rebels in the sewers." A mindless drone reported.

"I am well aware of that." Megabyte waved the drone off.

Honestly, the drones were about as useless as the infected binomes but the drones were almost completely brainless, leaving him to think of everything.

"Dot, my dear, what exactly do you think your friends will be doing next?" Megabyte turned and faced the infected commander.

Dot's infection was different from his infection that infected the body of his victims, leaving their minds intact allowing them to think and feel whatever they want but obeyed his commands regardless of how they felt. From what he heard of Daemon's infection it left her victims feeling happy and peaceful that they would obey any command Daemon gave them, a strange kind of infection to someone like Megabyte. However the kind of infection he used on Dot was a special gift from XANA, an infection that left the victim almost emotionless but was able to feel and show the same emotions as Megabyte himself while at the same keeping her thought capability but any thoughts of rebellion was suppressed.

Megabyte had to respect XANA for coming up with that, a way to turn Mainframe's most powerful asset against it.

"They will look for another to enter the Principal Office." Dot replied. "Perhaps find a way down the roof, through the Sub Sphere."

"Excellent, well we'll have to make sure that does not happen, my dear." Megabyte chuckled as he turned to the infected binome. "See to it that the Sub-Sphere is lowered into the Principal Office and a full battalion is stationed there."

"Yes, Lord Megabyte." The binome turned to carry out his orders.

"And now we watch and wait to see what desperate plan the Guardian and his pathetic band of rebels do next to save their dear city." Megabyte sat back but soon enough it evolved into a full out laugh that echoed throughout the Principal Office.

Xxx

Enzo Matrix couldn't stand it.

He had been stuck hiding in the bunker while the others had left on their missions to try and save the city. Frisket looked up as Enzo jumped off the chair he was sitting on and walked to the door. The dog whined and ran after him, possibly somehow knowing what the boy was up to. He stopped in front of the door and held a pleading a look on his face.

"Sorry, boy. But I can't sit back anymore." Enzo patted him on the head and jumped over him.

He ran out into the street and started running. With any luck Megabyte's troops would catch him and take him to the Principal Office. Frisket barked and when after his owner, not letting the boy out of his sight.

'What are you doing, Enzo?' That voice, Harmony asked inside his head.

'I can't let Bob and the others risk their lives alone anymore. I got to help.'

'You can't! You know how cruel Megabyte is, what he will do!' Harmony cried.

'Should I should sit back and watch as he tears my friends and family apart? I helped save the Net from Daemon because I was only one who was not infected. I may not be like Bob or Matrix but I am every bit a Guardian like they are.'

'That is true, in some ways you are better than both of them but you are not ready to deal with the likes of Megabyte on your own.' Harmony pointed out.

'Then help me, please!' Enzo begged.

'I would but I am blocked from entering this system. You told me how you tried calling for help but failed. Any portal into Mainframe is blocked by a power I have never seen before but I can sense it is more powerful than anything I have seen before.' Harmony sadly replied. 'I cannot enter through any kind of portal and the barrier is too powerful.'

Enzo remembered how Bob had said he had created a portal that had blocked him and Matrix from using it by a smoky barrier. He wondered how they could win without help from the Guardians or any ally if they couldn't enter Mainframe. He stopped in the middle of the street with Frisket by his side, looking up at the boy's face with a worried look.

An image flashed in Enzo's head making up look up in surprise.

'The Gateway Command!'

'Hm?' Harmony asked.

'My Dad's Gateway Command! It might work!' Enzo took off running. 'Megabyte plans to use it to leave, that means he knows how to get past whatever is blocking us from the Net! If I get into the Principal Office I can find it and use it to get help!'

'But Enzo, you don't know if you can even reach it!' Harmony tried to reason, sounding very afraid for the boy.

Enzo still didn't know if the voice in his head was real, no matter how real it sounded or how emotional she sounded but talking to someone did help a lot when there was no one else for him to talk to.

'It doesn't matter. Bob and the others put themselves on the line for the rest of Mainframe all the time. Matrix and AndrAIa risked losing Mainframe when they last that game and went with it, Dot risked losing her life when she tried to get rid of Megabyte, now it's my turn! I am not letting that virus take away my home!'

He stopped and stared at the Principal Office in the distance, spotting the viral forces guarding it. Megabyte was inside there somewhere…with his sister. With these thoughts in his head Enzo took off running faster than ever with Frisket right behind him.

'Enzo, despite all the memories I have of you before you continue to surprise me. You truly are different from your other self.' Harmony's voice was full of pride and awe. 'If you believe you can do this then I shall wait for you to open the path and I will save you and your family, just as Mother did before.'

"You never told me who your mother was." Enzo wondered out.

'You will know in time, Enzo.' Harmony sounded excited and a little mischievous. 'Just stay alive long enough for me to meet you.'

Enzo nodded, even if the voice couldn't see him and kept on running.

"You there!"

He stopped when he saw an Armored Binome Carrier coming towards him with virals on Zob-Boards flying down from all sides, surrounding him.

"Anyone caught outside is to be taken to the Principal Office.' The leader said, jabbing his staff weapon forward.

Frisket growled but Enzo stepped forward.

"Okay, we'll come quietly." The boy raised his hand. "But can we borrow your transport?"

The viral binomes look puzzled at that question, looking at each for a nanosecond before the leader replied. "No!"

"Oh well, thought I'd ask nicely. Get him boy!"

That was all Frisket needed to hear as he leapt forward with a terrifying bark. The binomes scattered and screamed as the dog from the digital version of Hell came down upon them with sharp teeth. Enzo ran forward and jumped onto the top of the ABC. Lowering his head down in front of the carrier where the pilots could see him he made funny faces at them.

"Hey! Get him off there!" The pilot shouted.

The gunner nodded and opened the top hatch to climb out and grab the boy, just as Enzo planned. The boy spun around just as the gunner opened and the hatch and pulled out his yo-yo. He swung it forward and it hit the gunner in the face, knocking him down. Enzo quickly jumped down and grabbed the staff weapon the gunner was holding.

"What the…" The pilot gasped as Enzo pointed the weapon at him.

"Take me to the Principal Office." Enzo said, trying to make a scary look on his face.

It worked as the pilot gulped and nodded. The ABC turned around and flew towards the Principal Office, leaving Frisket behind. The dog barked in protest and ran after it.

"Sorry, Frisket. I need to do this alone." Enzo whispered as the ship came closer to the Principal Office.

'Enzo, you need help if you want to do this.' Harmony protested.

'I can't go through life depending on everyone else.' Enzo shook his head. 'I can't endanger anyone else if this doesn't work.'

'Just as stubborn as Dot.' Harmony sighed.

Enzo smiled at that, considering it a compliment. 'Just watch me, guys. I'm going to save us all, like you all did before.'

'I will be with you the whole way, Enzo. Even if I am not there in person I will watch and cheer for you the entire way.' Harmony whispered. 'You will never be alone.'

'Thank you.' Enzo smiled.

He was happy that someone was with him, in a way. As he came closer to the Principal Office he had to fight the urge to gulp. The Principal Office looked nothing like the way it did before, warm and inviting just like Phong. Now it was a dark fortress with armored carriers and viral troops guarding the entrances guarding the one who stole it and her sister.

'Watch out, Megabreath. You'll remember not to underestimate little Enzo Matrix.'

Xxx

"Enzo! Enzo!"

AndrAIa had returned to the hidden bunker to check on little Enzo but to her shock he was gone. She had looked around the bunker and was now checking outside while making sure she did not attract the attention of the virals.

"Where can he be?" AndrAIa groaned. "Why do these Matrix boys have to be so stubborn?"

A familiar barking sound caught her attention and she spun around to see Frisket running up towards her.

"Frisket, where's little Enzo?" AndrAIa knelt down and patted the dog on the head.

Frisket whined and pointed his head at the Principall Office. This simple gesture told AndrAIa all she needed to know.

"He's going to the Principall Office!" AndrAIa gasped. "On his own!?"

This was the thing she needed. Matrix had gone to recruit more fighters for the rebels, Bob and Mouse had returned to the hidden Rebel headquarters to come with a plan, and now little Enzo was going to Megabyte's stronghold. Pulling out her Trident, AndrAIa stood up and broke into a sprint with Frisket right behind her.

'Stubborn hard headed little sprite, just like his older self!' AndrAIa shook his head.

She'd be deleted before she let Megabyte get his hands on the younger self of the boy she fell in love with. They had lost Dot already; they would not lose her little brother!

Xxx

On the digital island of Lost Angles, in the lair of Hexadecimal, her pet Familiar Scuzzy sat on the chair her mistress used to sit on. The Familiar was motionless with its eyes closed as if it was sleeping.

'Scuzzy.'

Scuzzy opened its eyes when it heard a voice.

'I need your help.'

The mirror floated in front of him and an image appeared on it. Its eyes shot up, looking shocked and at the same time…happy?

'It is good to see you too.' The person laughed. 'But I need your help.'

Scuzzy straightened up, ready to help.

'The young boy, Enzo needs our help with Megabyte.' The person whispered Megabyte's name with hate. 'He cannot be allowed to hurt Enzo or Bob any longer. Go to the Principal Office, find Enzo and help him safe them all.'

Scuzzy nodded and hopped off the chair, moving at high speed out of the lair and towards Mainframe.

'Good luck, Scuzzy.'


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything belonging to Code: Lyoko, Total Drama, or Reboot. Code Lyoko is Property of Moonscoop, Reboot is the property of Mainframe Entertainment and Total Drama is the property of Fresh TV.**

Xxx

Chapter 14

**Agri Prime**

It seemed to change so fast. It had only been one hour (day in user terms) and Agri Prime had changed. The sky had become black with red clouds, just like in Mainframe; the city had become darker and deserted. The people of the city, those who had not been infected had fled in terror and ran to hide in any place they could find that they believed would keep them safe.

"That spamming lizard face has single handedly ruined my fun."

At the top of a skyscraper, lying on her back while staring up at the dark sky was the Chaotic Virus called Nyx. She seemed to have a permanent pout on her face as she sat up and stared at the Principal Office that was scarred from Inferno's attack. The building had suffered from blasts of fire that had hammered its defenses and its entrance had been blasted open.

"This town…it's boring!" Nyx sat up. "That overgrown lizard's ruined my city! Everyone's either in hiding or infected meaning no one to play with me!"

When Inferno took over the Principal Office, the sky had turned to its current color with sprites and binomes either infected or dead. Anyone who was infected showed their allegiance with their red glowing eyes and their zombie like behavior. Even virals who have the capacity to still think would have been more entertaining than those zombies!

"I can't even leave and find a new play ground!" Nyx crossed her arms as she kicked a piece of rubble off the skyscraper.

She had considered leaving but to her shock when she had formed a portal she had been blocked by a smoky barrier. She tried to break through with all her strength but to her shock and frustration she couldn't do anything before the portal disappeared.

"Lizard Face has trapped me here, ruined my fun, and is now doing…User knows what!" Nyx cried in frustration. "This has officially become the worst second of my life!"

Drago, Inferno, or whatever his name now is had taken her playground and toys from her and trapped her here. And if there was one thing Nyx did not stand for was losing her play things.

"Okay." Nyx walked over to the edge of the tall building she stood on. "I am not going to take this lying down. That basic excuse of a dragon is going to regret the second he trapped _me_ here."

She took a step forward and jumped right off the building, falling towards the street below. A shadow portal and she fell through it. Another one appeared much closer to the ground and Nyx fell through it and landed perfectly on her feet. Infected binomes turned to her, hearing the sound of her feet hitting the ground and started to limp towards her.

"Oh please." Nyx activated her light whips and with just one swing from both of them all the closest zombies fell over.

The virals groaned in pain from the electric shocks coursing through their bodies.

"This is why I avoid infecting people or hate virals. No free will, no ability to make unexpected events, just lifeless drones unable to make their own choices." Nyx scoffed as she walked past the downed virals. "What's the point of living with no free will to make it interesting? Viruses like Daemon and Inferno think that the Net needs order; I say the Net needs more people like me to show them a good time!"

With a shout she swung her light whips out and slashed through dozens of viral zombies, knocking them down as she flew down the street.

"But, even though I am tough there's no way I can take on lizard face on my own. I may need some help." Nyx landed on the ground and looked around. "The problem is…where the Dell can I find help in a dead system like this?"

As far as she knew almost all inhabitants of the city had either been infected, deleted, or in hiding and Nyx didn't want to spend the rest of the cycle looking for help.

"Take them out!"

Nyx stopped and looked down an ally, seeing the shadow of a sprite.

"Well, I guess not everyone in this system is either infected or spineless after all." Nyx smirked.

She quickly jumped up and landed on the roof the building in front of her. Running to the other end of the roof she looked down to see a group of uninfected binomes and sprites running down the devastated road.

"Now things are getting interesting." Nyx commented.

Not wanting to miss out on the action she started jumping from roof to roof, following the rag tag group to their destination. She watched as they fired shots at any nearby zombie that turned to face them. A single female sprite leapt forward, brandishing a metal pole in both her hands. She slammed it into the head a zombie that immediately sent it down.

Another sprite, a male one brandishing a single gun fired on any zombies in the group's way. With another male, seemingly the leader held a baseball bat and helped bash in any zombies the female sprite brandishing the pole missed.

"Awesome!" Nyx grinned excitedly. "This is perfect! These guys are perfect for my own team!"

She jumped after them, determined not to lose sight of them. She noticed one sprite, a blond adult holding a medical kit, obviously the medic. The binomes were firing shots while staying behind the sprites and letting them handle the hard work.

"Okay, I believe I have found my rebels." Nyx laughed.

Xxx

BANG!

BANG!

BANG!

Another batch of viral zombies fell over as the group ran as fast as they could.

"How far to the car shop?!"

The person who called out was a sprite in his teen, dark hair, light yellow skin, purple eyes and wore a simple shirt and jeans. He was the one holding the baseball bat that he used to bash the heads of any zombified sprite or binome that got in his way.

"Just another corner!" The sprite holding the pole replied.

She was a teenage sprite with long orange hair, not as fiery as Mouse's hair, blue eyes, and tanned skin. She was a black muscle shirt with black pants. She slammed her pole into the head of another zombie in front of her and with another swing it fell over.

"I'm almost out!"

This sprite was short and chubby with brown hair, glasses over his dark eyes, with navy blue skin, brighter than even Bob's. He wore a dark coat while carrying what looked like a machine gun.

"There it is!" The dark haired sprite with the baseball bat pointed.

He was pointing at a very large transport resembling an RV but instead of wheels it was able to fly.

"Quick, everyone, get inside!" The orange haired girl spun and held her pole out. "We'll hold them off."

"Be careful!" The blond woman with the medical kit said as she started leading the group inside.

The three sprites who had been leading the group formed a line, standing in front of the transport as zombies started to converge on their location. However before the fight could even begin purple whips made of energy slashed through the zombies knocking them down. Everyone in the group stopped and stared as a little girl walked through the large pile of defeated zombies.

"Nice moves back there." The girl commented, smirking at them. "You're perfect for what I need."

The sprites and binomes of the rag tag group could only stare in awe and shock.

"Well…come on! You want to get bitten and end up like them!" The girl shouted impatiently. "Get in the User spamming truck!"

Xxx

"Oh FAQ no!"

The transport was now moving down an empty road, passing by zombies who didn't even turn and glance as it passed them. Inside the group had gathered with a single binome at the wheel. Nyx was sitting on a table with the group surrounding her.

"You expect us to team up with you, a virus, just after we lost our homes to another?!" The sprite with the baseball bat glared at her. "You have some nerve saying that."

"It's not like you have much choice if you want to survive. That lizard won't stop until this system has crashed and it just so happens that if that happens then what happens to everyone when a system crashes happens to me too." Nyx retored.

"One virus did this to our entire system!" The orange haired girl raised her pole, ready to bash Nyx's head in.

"Wait a nano!"

Everyone stopped as another teenaged female sprite stepped forward. She had long black hair which she kept in a long pony tail with two long thin bangs hanging over her forehead. She had bright orange eyes and white skin.

"You say you can help us?" She asked.

"Maggie, you can't seriously be consid…" The sprite with the baseball asked.

"Shut up, Nick. In case you haven't noticed, we don't have a lot of options. Our home is wrecked, we can't call for help or evacuate the city and it's only matter of time before we're attacked. That dragon took control of the Principal Office, meaning it's got all of our resources to use against anyone who stands up to it." The girl named Maggie snapped. "You want to survive?"

"She's a virus like that dragon." The orange haired girl pointed out. "When does a virus do anything but cause misery?"

"When another virus takes away all the fun." Nyx scowled. "I'm a virus who enjoys having fun and right now I'm not having any because that two-bit of a dragon ruined my current playground, got me stuck here, and has turned everyone into useless, boring zombies. So if I want to survive, get out of here, and continue enjoying life I need a way to fight and roast that lizard. So…" Nyx smirked. "You have two choices, you can try and fight me and you all get deleted or you can join me and become my group of rebels and take slay that lizard."

"Can we have a chance to talk about this?" The blond doctor asked.

"Don't take long." Nyx shrugged.

She flopped down and rested on the table with her hands under her head as she stared up at the ceiling. The group moved and huddled together once they were sure they out of the young virus's hearing range.

"You're not seriously considering this, are you?" Nick asked.

"In case you've forgotten which you most likely have, we don't have a lot options. Our system is in pieces, the Guardians who were _supposed_ to be defending us haven't answered any of our calls, our so called security force is either infected or deleted, and we're stuck hiding out here. You tell me what we should do." Maggie scoffed. "I know your basic, but stop letting everybody know about it."

"She's a virus; viruses destroy and infect everything they touch." The orange haired girl pointed out.

"I have to agree with Maya on this one, Maggie." The blond doctor nodded. "Viruses never do something out of the goodness of their codes."

"And she's no different." Maggie nodded. "She's made that perfectly clear. But she has something we don't."

"What's that?" Nick asked.

"Unlike the rest of you I have read all the reports on the recent viruses we've had. That virus, Nyx, the worse she has done is property damage with her 'pranks'. She's able to disappear and reappear with her powers and she's stopped that lizard virus from destroying the system plenty of times before its upgrade." Maggie glanced at the lounging virus. "She's got an edge against the lizard that we don't got at the nano."

"So we let her in?" The orange haired sprite, Maya asked sounding astounded.

"She said something about turning us into her team and you know how viruses act when they don't get something they want." Maggie pointed out. "You want us to get deleted before we can pay the lizard back for destroying our home?"

"But that virus could infect us!" Nick whispered harshly.

"She's never infected anyone during her stay here. A virus that's been in the system for this long just doesn't infect without a reason. She's been labeled a Chaotic Virus and those kinds of viruses don't infect people. All they do is disrupt the system with malfunctions and elaborate pranks that mess up but don't delete." Maggie closed her eyes. "Here's something she can do. She can get us inside the Principal Office."

"She has a point guys."

The group turned around to face a sprite who had been sitting behind them, listening to the conversation. He had messy black hair, hazel eyes; his skin was tanned like a human while wearing a T-white shirt with the picture of a battle tank, green cargo shorts splattered with dirt, and black combat boots. He had a slim but muscular figure showing that he was athletic.

"Henry." Nick said.

"I dislike viruses as much as anyone, especially since my older brother was part of the security team that was wiped out by that monster." Henry stepped forward, past the group and stopped in front of Nyx. "Right now, we're stuck and we need help if we want to survive."

Everyone stopped and thought it out. They were all against the idea of a virus teaming up with them, even one like Nyx and they had good reason. A virus had destroyed their homes, deleted or infected their loved ones and right now the system was getting worse. Was teaming up with a lesser evil virus a wise option?

"Let's see what she can do first." Nick said.

Xxx

**Digital Sea**

The trip through the World Wide Network was less suspenseful than most of the other trips Aelita remembered. One good was that the sea didn't change red so XANA had yet to send any monsters to take them out. The group had been engrossed in seeing Network as much as possible. They had been through so much since they had met Aelita and joined the fight against XANA.

They had been up and down Lyoko, they had encountered digital monsters from the smallest monsters to the giant big ones like the Terror Bird or the Kolossus, gone back through time, endured numerous attacks that went even against the laws of physics and now they can add exploring the Internet itself to their resume.

"Wow. This is what the digital world looks like when you are outside of Lyoko." Bridgette said. "It's so…beautiful."

"I got to admit, this is something." Courtney from her pod using the built in radio to speak to everyone.

"Those buildings, what are they for?" Noah asked.

"Jeremy and I theorized the city is kind of like a storage unit for all information on the Net." Aelita replied.

"So, everything that we put on the Net it ends up here? I guess the saying is true, when you put something on the Internet it's out there forever." Gwen commented.

"I wish I could change into a whale and swim out there." Izzy pouted, her lizard form sitting on Bridgette's shoulder.

"I wouldn't recommend that." Tom spoke, listening to the conversation from his ship. "The scans show that the data that makes up the water is thick, super thick. Your body would be crushed by the sheer data and energy."

"That's one good reason not to have a swim." Duncan, sitting next to Tom commented. "So, how long to this hub thing?"

"Five more minutes." Aelita replied.

"That lo…Oh right, different time measurements." Tom shook his head. "Five nanos to go and hopefully whatever I did to come here will work here."

"So you simply connected to the hub using Dac," Trent pointed to the keytool that was hooked up to the main console. "And you came here."

"I think I triggered some kind of command that allows people to travel through the hub. If I simply access the hub's system again it should lead us out into the Web." Tom replied. "Then we can locate the tear with the Web Address to Mainframe."

"Which in our case, will never ever happen." Noah said, sounding very pessimistic. "There's no way XANA doesn't know what we're up to. The guy knows everything happening on the Digital Frontier so he's sure to have some kind of plan ready."

"Tom, you mentioned strange Web Creatures with the same Eye symbol you saw in the tower." Aelita pointed out.

"Yeah." Tom nodded.

"Well, I've been thinking on that. I said before that XANA is capable of adapting to any digital environment, even one like the Digital Sea and possibly the Web. Even if the Web is made up of corrupted and degraded data XANA could have made a new type of monster, based off of the designs of the Digital Sea monsters from what you showed me to handle the Web's environment." Aelita explained her theory. "So if XANA is making monsters in the Web and recruiting viruses…"

"He really is building an army to conquer the Net, perhaps even destroy it!" Tom realized with shock and fear. "It's even worse if the Web is unleashed onto the Net, thousands of Web Creatures could invade dozens of systems! The Net would be devastated!"

"That sounds like XANA." Gwen said sourly. "And in the aftermath he'll just take over, any form of resistance will be too small and weakened from the invasion to put up a decent fight."

"And when he's done with one world he can move onto the next." Heather spoke up, behind Tom. "That's devious and evil, even by my standards."

"You had standards…OW!" Duncan chuckled until Heather slapped him on the back of the head.

"We have to move, now!" Tom hit the accelerator and the ship's engines flared.

"Whoa!" Izzy commented as she and the rest of the Skid's crew watched Tom's ship went to full speed.

"Better not fall behind!" Courtney called out.

"On it!" Aelita pushed the control sticks forward and the Skid went to full speed, chasing Tom's ship.

The ships blasted through the water, bubbles bursting out of the engines even though there wasn't any oxygen in a dimension completely flooded. The time it took to reach the Hub was cut in half by the ships moving at full speed. The gigantic upside down tower with the white Eye that was the Hub hung down ominously as the two ships approached.

"That's it?" Bridgette asked as the two ships stopped and floated in front of it.

"That's it." Tom nodded. "The thing that allowed me to come here."

"Okay…what are we waiting for?" Duncan asked, nervous and eager to get started.

"Okay, here goes." Tom looked down at his keytool. "Dac, scanner."

The keytool beeped and activated its scanner. The white Eye on the Hub started glowing white and the same light that Tom saw when he was brought to this digital dimension blasted from the symbol and wrapped around both ships.

"Okay, do we panic now?!" Courtney covered her eyes.

"It's all right!" Tom called out. "It's just scanning our ships, and then…"

The Eye fired a beam of light that wrapped around both ships were pulled towards the Eye and passed through it liked it was not solid!

"Whoa!" Trent exclaimed as both digital ships were traveling through a dark tunnel.

"I said the same thing when it happened to me the first time." Tom replied. "Now we're going to come out into the center of a data storm so be careful. A data storm can tear apart any ship or sprite without any protection."

"I am sure the shields will hold." Aelita said, spotting a bright light at the end of the tunnel.

"We are heading into the light!" Izzy pointed a small finger forward.

"Coming from you, Izzy, that's not reassuring." Gwen replied.

"I'll think of a time when anything Izzy said was reassuring." Noah muttered.

"Are you guys always this…random?' Tom asked, listening to the Skid crew.

"You should see the people at the studio." Heather said behind him. "We have met a couple of crazy nut balls."

Xxx

"Achoo!" Carlos sneezed while snacking on a Klondike bar. "My Klondike bar!"

"Somebody must be talking about you." Kurt laughed before sneezing.

CRASH!

GAME OVER!

"Crap!" Kurt groaned as the words flashed on the TV. "Whoever talked about me is dead for making me fall into the Grand Canyon!"

Xxx

Both ships came out of the tunnel into a bright light with a strong wind that slammed into them, shaking them and forcing the occupants to grip the controls and their chairs.

"I was hoping for a smooth ride!" Gwen gritted her teeth.

"Shields at full power!" Aelita shouted.

A blue energy barrier shined into existence around the Skid, protecting it from the strong winds of corrupted data that threatened to tear it apart. Tom's ship was equipped with special armor that protected its occupants from the Web.

"Follow me!" Tom called.

He thrust the controls forward and the ship's engines flared to life, surging through the storm.

"Hang on!" Aelita said and the Skid flew after Tom. "I wasn't exactly one hundred percent prepared for this!"

Both ships traveled through the brightly colored storm until at last they made it out into the dark and stormy environment of the Web.

"Wow!" The entire group gasped in awe as they looked around.

The Web was dark void with blue and red clouds everywhere, blotted with bright fiery data storms that lit up the dark void like stars.

"So this is it…This is the Web?" Noah looked around, a look of actual astonishment appearing on his face for perhaps for the first time in his life.

"From the way Tom described it even if it's dangerous it's actually very…beautiful." Gwen wished she had her sketchbook to try and drew the environment she was seeing.

"I know, even if it's a little scary looking." Bridgette agreed.

"Wooooooooooo!" Izzy's lizard tongue hung out of her mouth as she literally gaped at what she saw.

"So as long as no monsters come at us I am kind of…speechless." Courtney sat back in her seat and looked up at the dark digital realm.

Even if it was dark even Courtney would admit it did look amazing.

"To think, my parents suspected a place like this existed." Aelita looked up in awe.

"Wow. This is something to look at." Duncan whistled.

"And to think we're the first people from Earth to see this." Trent commented.

Heather herself was silent but she was just as impressed and awed by the new world she had just arrived in. 'What a world I have stumbled into.'

Tom was silent as the Users expressed their awe at the Web, not sure if he should be impressed by how the Web had impressed the Users or shocked that they were impressed by the digital realm that was feared by the entire Net. He supposed that it's nothing to be surprised at, he was surprised when he ended in the Digital Sea and then later again in Lyoko. Both worlds had a lot show and teach each other it seemed.

Xxx

XANA's eyes opened when he sensed what he had been waiting for, the Warriors had left Lyoko, they had left the Digital Sea and were now entering the Web.

'A whole new world to explore, new places, new peoples, and new enemies.' XANA smirked.

Now that they were in the Web, far from Lyoko they were vulnerable even if their digital ship provided a link to the Supercomputer.

'I have tried neutralizing them in the real world, deleting them by making life points active, tossing them into the Digital Sea. Now it's time to see if the Web can succeed where all those plans have failed.' XANA sent out a command.

His creations in the Web heard his commands instantly the moment he formed them in his mind.

'Locate the two ships and destroy them. No survivors.'

His creations obeyed his commands, as he expected them. They would attack the two ships while they were in the Web before they reached Mainframe. They may want to stop him before he did too much damage to the Net but they had made themselves vulnerable to being deleted…or worse.

'Let's put the Web to the test.' XANA chuckled.


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything belonging to Code: Lyoko, Total Drama, or Reboot. Code Lyoko is Property of Moonscoop, Reboot is the property of Mainframe Entertainment and Total Drama is the property of Fresh TV.**

Xxx

Chapter 15

"So what do we do now?" Bridgette asked, still watching the numerous storms along with the blue and red fog pass her window.

"We need to locate the tear with the Web Address to Mainframe. Once we're there we can make contact with Commander and the Guardian who can help us alert the Net to XANA's activities." Tom explained through the communicator. "Once they know what they are up against Bob and the others will probably try to call for reinforcements."

"They didn't do that when Megabyte showed up?" Heather asked.

"Not…exactly…" Tom trailed off.

"Tom?" Trent asked, staring at the back Tom's head. "Is there something about Mainframe that's bothering you?"

"…Kind of. It's not the system itself, I think that it's had enough troubles to last a life cycle. It's actually about…the Guardian posted there." Tom sighed. "I met him a few times back at the academy and to be honest I found his ideas to be on the radical side."

"Radical? What was radical about them?" Heather spoke up.

"He had a long history of studying the User and Viruses, saying that a User would never knowingly release something as dangerous as a Virus into the Net to cause death and destruction. After meeting you guys I see that he was only partially right, you didn't intent to create viruses to delete innocent lives." Tom explained.

"In our defense none of us have ever created a computer virus. I may have played a game here and there but I never did something like that." Noah spoke up from the Skid, listening along with everyone else.

"I know, it's just that Guardian 452, even as a cadet he was different from the rest of us as he always favored non violent methods to dealing with Viruses. He believed that their programming was what made them monsters and submitted several ideas of reprogramming them into Sprites rather than deleting them." Tom continued.

"Sounds like a form of rehabilitation that some doctors try on criminals in our world. Trying to change dangerous criminals into decent people, even if it does not always work." Aelita spoke up.

"I don't know what to say to that but I am not so sure Bob understands just how dangerous and terrifying a virus is. Saying a User programmed them to be behave like monsters that have no form of compassion is a rather weak excuse to me since Users created other formats such as Search Engines, Hackers, and even Guardians who carry out their code with free will." Tom sighed.

"You believe that it doesn't matter what the format is, the person itself is responsible for whatever crimes they commit." Gwen commented.

"…When I was a cadet in a small system my partner and I corned a virus in an alley who had a little kid as a hostage. I thought we could scare it into letting the kid go by threatening to delete it but the virus…it seemed to comply with our demands but just as it was about to let the kid who it deleted the kid right in front of us and then attacked us. We easily deleted it since we had backup and it was up against the wall…but looking back on it I realized it deleted the kid and then attacked because it knew that it was going to be deleted and did it anyway, simply because it could do it along with any horrible act it could commit before it was deleted." Tom explained. "Programs may carry out their format but they still have the power to make a choice and some programs, viruses or not, would probably like nothing more than to watch the Net burn."

Everyone couldn't help but remember the line used by Alfred in the Dark Knight, 'some men just want to watch the world burn'.

"That's why I can't accept Bob's ideas, he's too…forgiving. An admirable trait but he's allowed Megabyte to get away with far too much. If Bob had deleted Megabyte when he had the chance perhaps this situation with XANA could have been avoided." Tom shook his head. "I can't count how many times Bob had let Megabyte go only for that virus to throw Bob's chance back in his Facebook."

"And now the Net's in danger." Aelita finished. "Has he ever proven his theory?"

"Yes, one time with Megabyte's sister Hexadecimal who helped save the Net from a super virus named Daemon. She had been reverted to a sprite through a complete accident, somewhat ironically proving that viruses can be changed into sprites." Tom had a small grin. "She later transformed back into a virus and used a Gateway command to spread herself as a counter virus across the Net to cure everyone of Daemon's infection before we were all deleted."

"Wow…Mainframe sounds like one heck of a crazy town." Duncan commented.

"I cannot even begin to list the things that system has seen." Tom chuckled. "No matter how small it is it's definitely seen enough to fill a Read-Me File the size of the Supercomputer's Archives."

"So…what should we expect to find in Mainframe?" Gwen asked.

"Well…if everything is all right they will have caught Megabyte and deleted the son of bit before we have to do anything." Tom replied. "If we're unlucky Megabyte may be in hiding with his Trojan Horse abilities."

"And what happens if they find out we're…you know." Bridgette asked.

"Probably not well, so for now we'll keep your identities secret." Tom replied.

The Lyoko Warriors appreciated Tom's idea to keep their identities a secret from everyone else in the Net. Given what they heard the people of the Net would either worship them or hate their digital guts the first second they learned. Any more thoughts on the subject was cut off as a beeping sound in both the Skid and Tom's ship earning the attention of the passengers.

"What's that?" Heather pointed at a radar screen.

Tom looked down at the scanner and spotted a large number of red dots approaching them. "We have a large group coming at us, most likely a pod of Web Creatures."

"They're coming directly at us." Aelita added.

They could see the creatures in the distance, flying through the dark storm digital dimension while resembling a moving cloud. Aelita's scanners beeped and she looked down at the readings.

"Tom, those are not ordinary Web Creatures!" She cried.

She was right for as the Web Creatures came closer they could see the black skin, the shark like resemblance, and the red Eye on the face where you would usually see a pair of eyes.

"Those aren't your ordinary Web Creatures." Tom frowned. "I recognize them from before; they lured me to the Web Storm that was hiding the Hub that led me to the Network."

"Looks like XANA's on to us." Duncan commented.

"Worse, he probably knows what will happen if we are exposed to the Web." Aelita replied. "They're between us and the path to the portal to Mainframe."

"So we'll have to fight our way through." Gwen spoke up.

"Oh yeah! Our first fight in the Web!" Izzy still in her lizard form hoped up and down on Bridgette's shoulder.

"We're outnumbered though!" Courtney pointed out.

"Not for long. Everyone get ready, I showed you all how to pilot and now it's time to see that training to use. Detach!" Aelita hit the Detach Switch.

The pods holding the rest of the warriors detached themselves from the Skid's main body and their engines activated in the form of small rockets flaring to life. Aelita added rockets to the Skid's engine when she recreated it since the Skid had originally been designed to travel through the Digital Sea only. Now it could fly through dimensions like the Web and the Net thanks to the newly installed rockets. Gwen, Noah, Courtney, and Bridgette grasped the controls in front of them, nervously and carefully angling the pods to facing the incoming pod.

"Hey, do we have call signs?" Izzy asked.

"Call signs?" Noah asked.

"You know, like on Star Wars where the guy asked all wings to report in and Luke Skywalker said Red Five standing by." Izzy explained.

"We'll call you Crazy One." Noah replied.

"Noah's Smartass One." Gwen chuckled.

"Gwen's Weird One." Heather commented, earning a stare from Tom.

"How do you guys function like this?" Tom asked.

"It's a lot easier than it looks." Duncan replied.

"All right, everyone we need to stay close." Aelita brought them back to serious subject. "We have about fifty Web Sharks coming in and they have more than enough fire power to blast us to bits. If you are sucked out into the Web deivrtualize yourself immediately by any means necessary since we can't take the risk of our digital selves being immune to the Web's effect."

"Got it." Gwen nodded.

"Understood." Courtney replied.

"In case of crack window commit suicide, gotcha." Noah replied.

"Roger, roger!" Izzy jumped onto Bridgette's head.

"Yeah, roger." Bridgette sighed.

"We'll need to split them up. A Pod's most dangerous weapon is its numbers." Tom spoke up. "They are more dangerous when they travel in packs and since your XANA created these Web Creatures it's likely that they are even more dangerous."

"What can we do?" Trent asked, gesturing to himself, Duncan, and Heather. "We're not exactly in a position to help here."

"Just sit back and try not to touch anything." Tom held up his wrist. "Dac, energy weapons."

Dac jumped off Tom's gauntlet and hooked itself up to the computer console of the ship. The main screen showed the two forward energy weapons powering up.

"Weapons and shields online." Tom said. "I'll go in first, the rest of you take up formation behind me. Dac is sending you the instructions on the formation."

Everyone looked down at their main screen to see Tom's ship in the leading with the rest flying next to him in a triangle formation with Aelita right behind Tom's ship. The Skid pods instantly took up formation following Tom's instructions as best as possible.

"This is so cool! I wish I could change back and take control!" Izzy looked excited as the group of ships flew straight towards the pod.

"Bad idea Izzy!" Bridgette said, hoping Izzy would not change back in the middle of a battle.

"Everyone, get ready to fire on my mark. Ready…Aim…" Tom targeted the lead Web Shark. "Fire!"

A combination of missiles and energy blasts fired from the united group and collided with the pod of Web Sharks. The monsters ignored the casualties they suffered as the first attack destroyed most of the first wave. The Web Sharks flew past the exploded remains of their fallen brethren and missiles launched from their mouths.

"Scatter!" Tom ordered.

The group split up in different directions, luckily managing to avoid the missiles. The Web Sharks scattered and chased after scattered ships.

"Quick do a U-turn and a barrel roll!" Izzy said as two sharks chased after Bridgette's ship.

"What?!" Bridgette exclaimed as she avoided a missile that flew past her cockpit.

"Give me that!" Izzy hopped onto Bridgette's lap and changed into a monkey.

"Izzy what are you-AAAAAHHHH!" Bridgette screamed as their ship performed a U-turn and flew straight at the pursuing Web Sharks.

"Eat this you digital Jaws!" Izzy laughed as she fired two missiles that blasted the sharks to digital bits. "Whoa! Let's find some more!"

"No thanks!" Bridgette quickly took the controls back. "I got this now, Izzy!"

"Awwww!" Izzy groaned.

Noah was having a similar situation. He was used to controlling fighters with a game controller instead of real life. He knew all the maneuvers but was used to sitting in front of his television with his Game Station controller. A missile flew past his ship and when it exploded the shock sent his ship spinning.

"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!" Noah held on for dear life as his ship spun like a top. "Digital Air Sickness people!"

"_Come on, Noah! Where's your sense of adventure and thrilling excitement?_" Cody asked from the lab in the real world.

"Let me get back to you on that!" Noah said as he regained control and spun around.

The Web Shark that had been chasing after him flew at him at full speed with its mouth wide open, intending to smash the ship open its own teeth. Noah jammed the control sticks forward and the ship blasted forward like a speeding bullet. The Shark growled and accepted Noah's challenge and both combatants flew straight at each other. Of course the Shark had no idea of what Noah's real plan had been.

Just as they were close enough Noah spun out of the while firing a missile at the same time that blasted the Shark before it had a chance to dodge.

"There it is." Noah said when the ship stopped spinning. "It usually shows when the battle's over."

"_Noah, you are one of the most unmotivated I have ever met._" Cody sighed.

Courtney was getting annoyed with the three Web Sharks chasing after her. No matter what maneuver she tried the Web Sharks kept chasing after her.

"I can't believe I'm say this but I actually regret all those times you guys invited me to play those stupid video games!" Courtney exclaimed as an explosion shook her ship.

"_Hey! I'll have you know those stupid video games are perfect for hand-eye coordination and a great way to pass the time!_" Cody protested.

"Yeah, yeah, you got any advice on how to deal with these sharks chasing me?!" Courtney struggled to keep her ship stabled which was difficult from the explosions all around her.

"_Okay, hold on, I'll see if anyone can help._"

Cody looked across the ariel battle to see if anyone could help Courtney. He noticed how Noah and Bridgette had eliminated their attacks and had gone to help anyone else who was in trouble and take out stray Web Sharks on the way but they were no anywhere near Courtney to give her a hand. He spotted Gwen nearby in an aerial fight with two Web Sharks chasing after her. Gwen had a better handle on her fight but the sharks were still giving her a hard time.

That gave Cody an idea.

"_Gwen, quick set course for Courtney's ship at full speed._"

"Can't you see I'm a little busy here?" Gwen retorted.

"_Trust me._"

Gwen grunted but turned and headed in the direction of Courtney's ship. "You better know what you're doing."

"_Courtney, you do the same. Turn to Gwen's ship and hit the accelerate._"

"This better not be one of those suicidal stunts." Courtney turned to Gwen's and both ships were heading straight towards each other with Web Sharks chasing after them.

"Cody…" Gwen said.

"_Wait for it._"

The ships came so close with Web Sharks firing their missiles.

"Cody…." Courtney said.

"_Hang on…_"

They were so close that they could see each other's reflection in the glass.

"CODY!" Both girls shouted.

"_Pull up now!_"

Gwen and Courtney pulled their control sticks back as fast as possible and the ships flew straight up just inches from each other. In the meantime the Web Sharks had still been chasing after them firing their missiles and when both ships had pulled up the missiles flew under them and collided with their own comrades. One shark in both directions survived only to collided with each other and explode on impact. Both girls sighed in relief as their ships flew back towards the battle.

"Cody, if you ever suggest something like that again I'll personally virtualize you into the middle of a hoard of monsters." Gwen looked up with a glare as if Cody would see her.

"And that's only if you live after I get through with you." Courtney growled.

Cody chuckled nervously and quickly looked to the rest of the fight along with the others in the lab. The ships and sharks were everywhere with missiles and lasers flying and hitting everything and nothing at the same time. It was like one of those space battles seen on a sci-fi movie except here the stakes were much higher. Tom seemed the most adept to this kind of fighting as he destroyed the most of the monsters that attacked him.

But the battle was not all that great. Cody observed the missile launchers on the ships running low and for every shark they destroyed three more took their place. They knew it wouldn't be easy tracking XANA's activity in the Net and apparently XANA knew that. He probably came prepared with an overwhelming force to deal with the warriors in a place where he had the advantage.

"There are too many of them!" Tom said as he blew up another Web Shark. "Everyone form up with me as I blast through their ranks."

"What's the plan?" Aelita asked, her ship shaking from another blast.

"If those things are here to stop us from reaching Mainframe than we need to head for the tear with Mainframe's address. I got an idea." Tom replied.

All ships quickly formed on Tom's ship as he blasted several Web Sharks in his way. The group followed Tom's ship while taking note of the large group of Web Sharks and the deadly barrage of missiles following them. Explosions lit up the digital dimension around them but they managed to keep up with Tom's ship. In the distance they could see a bright blue sphere shining bright like a star and if they got close it could be as deadly to humans as a star is when you get too close.

"Is that it?" Aelita asked.

"Yeah, it's called a Tear. It's the result of system instability in the very fabric of cyber space that is dangerous to anything close by. We discovered that these Tears can be converted into portals leading almost anywhere in the Net." Tom explained.

"So what good is going near this thing if…" Duncan stopped when something happened.

A large force field appeared the Tear behind the ships and the Web Sharks exploded upon making contact with the shield. Streams of lightning blasted the surviving Sharks and small bits of light resembling pixies appeared, eating through the screaming Web Sharks who stood no chance what so ever.

"What's going on?" Heather turned back and watched as the Web Sharks were destroyed.

"When the Web invaded Mainframe they created a device to close the portal but Mouse needed to hack the Web's codes to shut the portal. While she was at it she hacked into the Web and installed several security traps around Mainframe's Web Address that was designed to make locating and entering Mainframe from the Web nearly impossible." Tom explained. "I gambled on the traps still being intacted and since Mouse designed them to keep Web Creatures out of Mainframe…"

"You believed they would target XANA's monsters because were designed like Web Creatures." Aelita finished with a smile, applauding Tom's ingenuity. "So with the traps still working it's impossible for XANA's monsters to follow us."

"You got it." Tom smirked. "I remembered how said XANA could design monsters to function in almost any environment and I hoped that these ones were similar enough to real Web Creatures that the traps would think they were the real thing."

"That was a very good plan." Noah admitted. "So now what?"

"First off, everyone re-attach to the Skid. Just remember where you were before and the ships will hook back up automatically." Aelita instructed.

The pods reattached themselves to the main body of the Skid a second later leaving two ships floating in front of the tear.

"All right, here goes. Dac, portal." Tom ordered.

Dac beeped and a beam of light came out the energy front energy cannons, colliding with the tear and stabilizing it into a portal.

"Wow!" Bridgette gasped when they all saw Mainframe.

"Cool." Noah admitted.

"Let's get this show on the road." Gwen said.

"Wait a nano." Tom said, stopping everyone from moving. "Something's not right with the portal."

"What do you mean?" Trent asked.

"I mean portals don't glow red." Tom pointed at the portal.

There was a distinct red aura surrounding the portal, similar to what Aelita and the others had encountered before.

"I know that glow." Noah frowned.

"We all do." Courtney gulped.

"It's the same red glow I saw at that tower in Lyoko." Tom stated. "I'm open a channel to Mainframe." He tapped the communication switch. "This is Guardian 543, calling from the Web to Mainframe. Can anyone hear me?"

He received no answer and when he looked at the scanners he grimaced. "This thing is blocking all communications from going through."

"Cody, I'm sending a scan of the portal to you." Aelita tapped several commands.

"_I see it…."_ Everyone waited for Cody to look over the scan and see what was going on. _"Oh boy this is XANA's work all right. It looks to be some kind firewall that's blocking everything related to the system. Every single strand of data is blocked and protected._"

"That's not possible! Nothing in the history of the Net has ever been able to block a portal." Tom exclaimed.

"With XANA causing all this I am not surprised." Duncan replied from behind Tom. "Okay, Aelita, we need one of those big miracle counter plans."

"This one is going to be a tricky one, Duncan. This is new territory and XANA's got a head start on us." Aelita replied. "A firewall that locks down everything is easy for him to create and it's especially easy when it's being used on a system as small as Mainframe if the information is anything to go by."

"Translation?" Duncan asked.

"She needs some to figure it out." Gwen replied.

"Time we may not have." Tom grimaced.

"All right, if XANA's got a firewall wall blocking us we need to knock it down." Noah spoke up. "Since we're in possession of the best supercomputer on the planet wouldn't that mean breaking through this thing will be easy?"

"_I'm not a hacker, Noah._" Cody retorted. "_Give me a second._"

Xxx

**Carbon Copy**

XANA had already seen the outcome of the battle through the many eyes of his monsters and knew that they were at the portal to Mainframe.

'I miscalculated. I thought overwhelming with my monsters in the Web would get rid of them but the Guardian had led them through a trap and my creations fell for it.' XANA processed. 'Megabyte had neglected to mention this, I could have had a contingency plan for this strategy…No matter, they still have to get through the firewall and it'll take more than a hacker program's measly little traps to stop me.'

Megabyte may have said Mouse was a master hacker but XANA was a supreme master hacker. If Mouse had hacked into the Web to install these traps then XANA could easily disable these traps. It may be a setback but the firewall around the portal leading to Mainframe will keep them occupied while XANA took the chance.

'They may have some time on their side but that time can be used against them as well. While my creations gather outside these traps I'll disable them myself.'

Xxx

The computer beeped catching Cody's attention. "_Uh oh, Aelita something's happening._"

"What is it?" Aelita asked.

"_Well, I'm detecting a flux of energy around you guys_." Cody watched the red sphere around the tear and the group. "_It's centered on those traps._"

"XANA…" Aelita frowned.

"I don't like the sound of this." Bridgette gulped.

"_Aelita's right, it's XANA. He's hacking into the Web and trying to disable those traps and I'm picking more Web Sharks on the way. You don't have much time._"

"We have to get through the firewall before he disables the traps and overwhelms us with his monsters. If XANA has a firewall around Mainframe he must have somehow had it installed." Aelita quickly took charge.

"Meaning Megabyte might already be in control." Tom replied, grimacing at the idea of that virus finally destroying Mainframe.

"So if we want to get through, we'll have to hack into Mainframe and disable the firewall from the inside." Aelita finished. "Cody….we need a tower."


	17. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything belonging to Code: Lyoko, Total Drama, or Reboot. Code Lyoko is Property of Moonscoop, Reboot is the property of Mainframe Entertainment and Total Drama is the property of Fresh TV.**

Xxx

Chapter 16

"_A tower?!_" Everyone in the lab exclaimed when they heard Aelita's suggestion.

"You mean those towers that provide a way for XANA to attack the User World?" Tom asked, trying to keep up.

"Yes and in this case the only thing keeping us alive." Aelita nodded even though Tom couldn't see her.

"Aelita, you remember what happened the last few times we used a tower?" Noah asked. "Things did not turn out so well."

"I know Noah but if we don't use a tower than we're finished. XANA's too powerful for any of us to stop without a tower and it's only a matter of seconds, or nano-seconds before he can disable the traps. A tower can provide the power to break through the fire walls he has placed around Mainframe." Aelita explained.

"How will activating a tower get us into Mainframe? Cody's good with computers but he's not a hacker, no offence." Gwen spoke up.

"_None taken._"

"It's risky but I believe we should let Tom and Dac try." Aelita replied.

"Us?" Tom asked. "Dac doesn't have the power to breach a firewall."

"Maybe not as you are but you managed to connect with Lyoko through the tower in the Mountain Sector, I'm hoping that an activated tower will provide the power to break through the fire wall but we need something to channel that power." Aelita reasoned.

"Can Dac handle it?" Tom asked, out of concern for his key tool.

"I don't know. I don't have enough experience to make an accurate guess here." Aelita said regretfully. "It's all I can think of right now and if we don't hurry than XANA's monsters will overwhelm us."

"Hm…." Tom looked down at Dac. "I know keytools have powers and ability beyond almost anything in the Net but at the same time what if this overload's Dac?"

Dac beeped up, earning Tom's attention. It let out several beeping sounds while Tom and the others behind simply watched.

"Yes, yes I know but…" Tom stopped as Dac cut him off with more beeps. "You sure want to…What if….All right. Aelita looks like you've got Dac's vote, he's still connected to that tower and says he's ready to try."

"I'm sorry about this, Tom. I pray that Dac will survive." Aelita actually sounded sorrowful which surprised Tom a lot. "All right, Cody. Hurry and activate the tower."

"_Got it!_"

Xxx

In the Mountain Sector of Lyoko the same tower that Tom had previously entered started to glow green as Cody activated it. The tower gathered energy within it and then channeled the energy through connection that Tom had made with his key tool.

Xxx

Tom watched as Dac started to glow green and the key tool and the power reserves on his ship started to increase.

"By the code!" Tom gasped as the energy readings went up. "I've never seen such high levels of energy before! We're going to blow up if it goes up any further!"

As if hearing him say that Dac instantly channeled the new energy into the ship's energy weapons and unleashed a stream of green energy that hit the fire wall surrounding the portal in a blast of green light.

Xxx

"Sir!"

Megabyte had been disturbed from observing Mainframe by an unidentified zombified drone. He cast the drone an annoyed look. "What is it?"

"Something is happening! It's in the sky!" The drone reported.

Megabyte tapped a command and a new Vid-Window appeared in the War Room showing Megabyte the disturbance. His eyes narrowed as he watched shock waves of green energy travel across the sky.

"Find out what is happening now!"

The drone ran off while Megabyte watched the sky. He could think of only one being who could be responsible for this.

"XANA."

Xxx

"What in tarnation…" Mouse trailed off.

They had just been planning to go after Enzo who had gone off on his own to rescue his sister when something happened. The dark sky and red clouds had vanished as green energy engulfed the sky, not unlike how Daemon's infection had spread from system to system.

"What is going on now?!" Matrix looked at the sky.

The rebels watched from their hideout in the deep dark depths of Mainframe that were highlighted by the lights in the sky.

"It's incredible…" Bob whispered as he held up his key tool. "Glitch scan."

Glitch complied and ran a system wide scan.

"It's some kind of power surge…Something's trying to break into the system!" Bob gasped. "This is incredible! It's trying to break through whatever has trapped Mainframe!"

"Break through?" AndrAIa looked at Bob. "Guardians?"

"No, whatever this is it's generating more power than anything the Guardians could ever hope to create. This power…I never thought a power like this could except maybe a Game Cube."

Xxx

Enzo had been distracted when the green light traveled across the sky. He had just made it to the Principal Office as the ABC he was on docked inside the main hangar where the CPU defense force kept the majority of its air force.

"Wow…What is it?" He whispered.

Lucky for him all the viral binomes were distracted from seeing or attacking him as they too were entranced by the spectacle in the sky.

'Harmony, are you doing this?' Enzo thought.

'No.' Harmony instantly replied. 'I can see it happening outside. It's trying to break through the walls surrounding Mainframe.'

'Help?' Enzo thought with hope rising up in him. 'Is help finally coming?'

Xxx

'Lilith.'

Lilith sat up on the throne she had been relaxing on when she heard her master's voice. 'Master?'

'The Warriors are trying to enter Mainframe and they have activated a tower. The fire wall will not last long.' XANA's voice whispered in her mind. 'Shut down the tower that they are using before it is too late.'

'Yes Master.' Lilith stood up as a portal appeared.

Thanks to the connection between the two digital dimensions Lilith's unique powers allowed her to travel between the dimensions easily as she was able to travel between Lyoko's sectors and the Carbon Copy. With a simple step through the portal she was no longer in the Web but back in Lyoko, standing in the Mountain Sector. XANA instantly sent her the coordinates of the tower. She created another portal and through it she appeared in front of the activated tower.

Xxx

"Wow!" LeShawna said as the people in the lab watched the energy beam try and break through the fire wall.

Cody was typing as fast as he could while making sure he didn't make a mistake. Dac was channeling the tower's power through Tom's ship and releasing it in the form of a very powerful energy beam that was weakening the fire wall surrounding Mainframe. Now Cody had to step in and try to hack into Mainframe to disable the security codes XANA had set up. Cody considered himself a person who was good with computers but even with the tower assisting him hacking something created by an AI who could outmatch almost anyone in anything that involved programming.

Aelita knew that and suggested the tower, a way to counter XANA's programming skills with brute force. The energy beam was actually a sign of a desperate move, hoping to break open a hole in the fire wall long enough for the group to make it through. Cody just needed to try and disable the security codes before XANA fully disabled Mouse's traps. However his concentration was interrupted when the computer beeped and he looked up to see what needed his attention.

"Oh crap!" Cody gulped.

"What's wrong?" Geoff asked, looking at the map.

In front of the tower was a red dot, identifying it as an enemy. A further scan revealed it to be a General and not just any general.

"We got company." Cody adjusted the head set. "Aelita, Lilith just showed up at the tower and I think we can all guess why."

"Oh no." DJ gulped.

Xxx

"What now? If Lilith shuts down the tower we're done for." Noah spoke up.

"Cody, there's a special program I set up for just the occasion." Aelita said. "Search for Program: Great Wall and activated it."

Nearly everyone wondered what the program was for but instantly knew what it was probably supposed to do.

"_All right…all right…got it! Launching Great Wall!_"

Xxx

Just as Lilith was about to enter the tower a flash blue light surrounded the tower and blocked her as she touched it.

"Gah!" Lilith jumped back, cradling her slightly smoking hand.

She watched as an energy field covered the tower and kept her from entering. "Cute trick."

She figured Aelita would try and create something that would protect the tower from anything her master would use to take it out. However one of the reasons XANA had made Lilith top general was that she was unique, even amongst his generals. There was a power inside her that made her dangerous, even dangerous to XANA and Aelita. Luckily like all of XANA's creations Lilith is loyal to XANA and her loyalty is returned with the respect and apparent favoritism XANA sometimes like to show.

He takes pride in all of his creations, including his generals and Lilith was hailed as one of his greatest creations. If Aelita had a fire wall to protect the tower she was using to enter Mainframe than Lilith was the perfect counter.

"This might hurt." Lilith braced herself as she put her hand on the tower and flinched as blue flames engulfed her hand.

However Lilith kept pushing herself through the barrier, flames traveling down her body. She struggled to handle the pain, concentrating her powers to keep the barrier from deleting her and push her way into the tower.

'You won't stop me.'

Xxx

"No way!" Cody exclaimed as they watched Lilith pushing herself through the fire wall.

"That girl is crazy!" LeShawna agreed.

"What do we do? What do we do? What do we do?" DJ asked, unable to say anything else.

"I got to work faster." Cody typed even faster, his fingers almost too fast for the human eye to see. "Aelita, I don't know how but Lilith is pushing through the barrier we set up! She's walking through the fire wall even though it's burning her alive!"

"_All right, Cody open a connection to the hacker program on my console. I can try and help you hack into Mainframe from here._"

Xxx

Cody quickly opened a connection to the Skid, allowing Aelita to access the program.

"How is Aelita helping go to make a difference here?" Tom asked.

"A big difference." Noah spoke up over the intercom. "Aelita's the most familiar with programs created by XANA, if she can find a weakness in the armor she can exploit it."

Aelita typed away at the console in front of her, gritting her teeth as she tried to move as fast as possible. Meanwhile the first trap which contained the energy storm shattered to pieces like glass with the pieces exploding in a blinding blast of white light.

"The first trap is gone!" Tom announced.

"Almost there…" Aelita mumbled.

Web Sharks started to gather around the group as XANA concentrated on destroying the second trap. Pixels flew out and attacked the Web Sharks but the monsters fired missiles and lasers, actually destroying them. Now that XANA's monsters had experienced Mouse's traps first hand XANA had been able to adapt and adjust his monsters' weapons to deal with Mouse's traps.

"_Guys, Lilith is almost through!_" Cody cried.

Xxx

Lilith's arm managed to make it through the fire wall and now the rest of her body was pushing through the fire wall. Flames consumed her body and she had a strained look on her face but she used her powers to block out the pain. With one final push she walked through the fire wall and stood inside the interior of the tower. Her body was now coal black from the flames burning her with smoke coming rising up into the air.

However Lilith was not concerned as a second later her body completely healed itself with no evidence of any wounds what so ever.

"Ah!" Lilith sighed in relief. "That was a little rough."

Shaking her head to remind herself of her mission she walked towards the center of the platform, listening to the chimes as the platform lit up from her steps. She stepped into the center and looked up at the upper platform, spreading her arms out as she was lifted up towards the second platform.

Xxx

"_Aelita hurry!_" Cody exclaimed.

The second trap was now destroyed with the final trap, an energy barrier that kept Web Creatures away from the tear so they couldn't enter Mainframe. It glowed bright red, the same red color that was XANA's signature color for the towers he controls. XANA was now just one trap away from launching an all out attack that would destroy his enemies once and for all.

"Almost there…" Aelita repeated.

Xxx

Lilith landed on the second platform, smiling as it lit up and chimed that signaled her arrival. The interface in front of appeared of her and she moved towards with her her hand raised.

Xxx

"And…..Now!" Aelita pressed the final command, praying that it would work.

The fire wall surrounding the portal began crack open as the hacking program began to shut down the programs and the energy beam started to overload it.

"Everyone get ready to move!" Aelita gripped the levers. "This is going to be close! As soon as it opens we need to get through!"

"Right!" Tom nodded as he got ready.

Xxx

Lilith put her hands on the screen and pulled it back, watching what would happen next.

LILITH

CODE: XANA

The tower started to shut down, cutting the connection that Tom had forged with Dac.

"Tower deactivated."

Xxx

The fire wall shattered like glass while at the same time exploding in a blast of green light. At the same time the green energy beam shut down on its own, without Tom or Dac's consent.

"Something's cut Dac off!" Tom called out.

"_Lilith's shut down the tower!_" Cody explained.

"Doesn't matter! Everyone, go now!" Aelita pressed the levers forward.

Just as she shouted out, the final trap was shattered and the Web Sharks flew forward with a boundless determination to stop them before they made it through the portal. The engines on both flared to life and they shot off like speeding rockets towards the portal.

"This is going to be close!" Noah gulped.

"No worse than falling out of a plane!" Courtney exclaimed.

"Tell me when it's over or if we're dead!" Bridgette covered her eyes.

"Good thing we can't throw up!" Gwen gripped her seat.

"WHOOOOO-HOOOOOO!" Izzy let out an excited cry as she held onto Bridgette's shoulders.

"Here we go!" Tom gritted his teeth.

"It's one of those days!" Duncan turned and looked at the Web Sharks chasing them. "Step on the gas!"

"This is why I never liked those high speed roller coaster rides!" Heather gripped her seat as tightly as possible.

"Where's a helmet when you need one?!" Trent asked rhetorically.

Xxx

On the other side, the people of Mainframe both viral and non infected programs watched as a blast of green light nearly consumed the sky and nearly blinded anyone who was watching. When the blast faded what they saw next did not make them feel much better.

"Oh no…" Bob gasped in horror.

"No, no, now this!" Matrix shouted in anger and fear.

There was a hole in the sky, a literal hole in the sky that acted as a window that allowed everyone to see that was on the other side.

The Web!

"But I sealed Mainframe's address! It's impossible for anything to reach here from the Web!" Mouse's fists tightened. "What's that virus gone and down now?"

"I don't think Megabyte's behind this one. Not even he is crazy enough to try something like this." AndrAIa whispered.

She didn't know how right she is.

Xxx

"What is that?!" Megabyte growled.

"Sir, it looks like something has torn open an opening to the Web!" A drone replied.

"I know that!" Megabyte snarled, glaring at the drone who gulped fearfully.

He looked back up at the screen, watching the hole in the sky that left Mainframe vulnerable to an attack from the Web.

"What are you up to, XANA?" Megabyte muttered quietly.

XANA was the only one who could cause this much trouble and Megabyte knew he had something to do with this. Megabyte was no stranger to treachery, in fact he was the one who was usually treacherous in any deal but he knew XANA was capable of betrayal.

"Contact the Control Tower, tell them to close the rift!" Megabyte banged the controls with his fist, sending up sparks.

"Yes, my lord." A drone hastily said.

"Sir, something's coming out of the rift!"

Megabyte looked up and saw two small ships emerged from the rift, one looking like a Guardian scout ship while the other he didn't recognize.

"The Guardians?" Megabyte gripped the railing. "They're behind this? No, they would have come from the Net if it was them."

He was missing a huge piece of the puzzle and he loathed guessing like this. He always made sure to be the one holding the cards and this strange phenomenon was annoying him.

"Should we shoot them down?" Lieutenant Chauncy asked.

"No…." Megabyte looked back up at the screen. "We're missing something important here. The fire wall was breached which should be impossible. XANA's codes are too advanced for anything the Guardians, Mouse, or anyone to understand which means…"

His eyes widened at the sudden implication. If someone out there was capable of hacking or defeating XANA's codes it means he has his own batch of enemies and now they were here in Mainframe!

"DAMN YOU XANA!" Megabyte smashed the console in front of him.

Pure anger and rage coursed through his body as he glared angrily at the screen. XANA had allowed his enemies into the Net and if they were strong enough to fight XANA than if they joined up with Bob and the rebels his control of the system would be in danger!

"Organize the troops, I want everything out there!" Megabyte shouted, sending the drones and virals running to carry out his commands. "If they think they can stop me they are mistaken. I wanted to make this system suffer a little longer but it seems I will have to just settle for forcing them to watch as I burn this city into the energy sea. Show no mercy, delete anyone you see, destroy everything!"

He wouldn't let them win.

Not after all the grief they had caused him.

He would tear this system apart before they gained even a shred of hope.

Xxx

'It's gone!'

Enzo was torn from watching a sky when he heard Harmony's voice inside his head again. 'Harmony?'

'It's gone! The strange barrier that kept me out is gone!' Harmony cried happily. 'I can finally return!'

'Return?' Enzo didn't know if he should be happy or scared.

'Yes and now it's time to free Mainframe.' Harmony replied.

Xxx

The Control Tower fired a beam of light at the rift and managed to close it off before any Web Creatures entered Mainframe. By that time the ships were already out of the way and flying towards the city.

"Wow." Gwen said, looking at the city floating over the sea of energy. "This is Mainframe?"

"Yeah. Welcome to Mainframe, Lyoko Warriors." Tom smiled.

Xxx

"One of those ships…" Bob squinted his eyes before he realized why it looked familiar. "It's a Guardian Scout ship!"

"Really, the cavalry has finally arrived!" Mouse smiled.

"If they're Guardians why did they come through the Web instead of the Net?" AndrAIa asked.

"I'm not sure. No one in their right mind would travel through the Web to reach Mainframe." Bob said as the ships flew towards the city. "We got to meet up with them, before Megabyte tries to blast them out of the sky."

"No problem." Matrix pulled out his gun.

Xxx

On the abandoned island of Lost Angles, in the middle of street that was deserted save for a few Nulls slithering by a portal opened. The nulls suddenly came out of hiding and gathered as a person walked out of the portal.

"I'm back!" The voice resembled a young girl who laughed and spun happily.

Looking up at the sky she noticed the dark color with the red clouds replacing the normal blue sky with white clouds. Looking at the city she noticed how it looked, bleak and desolate.

"Megabyte has once again ruined this place." The girl frowned. "He shall learn what happens when he hurts what I love."

The true Viral War was now beginning.


	18. Chapter 18

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything belonging to Code: Lyoko, Total Drama, or Reboot. Code Lyoko is Property of Moonscoop, Reboot is the property of Mainframe Entertainment and Total Drama is the property of Fresh TV.**

Xxx

Chapter 17

"So now what?" Aelita asked as the two ships approached Mainframe.

"Hold on, I got an idea." Tom held up his Keytool. "Dac, activate transponder."

His keytool started beeping, sending out a signal was that intercepted by Glitch. Bob looked down as Tom's face appeared on screen.

"This is Guardian 453, to any Guardians or local authority that hear me, please respond." Tom said.

"This is Guardian 452. Tom?" Bob asked.

"Long time no see, Bob." Tom said.

"You know him?" AndrAIa whispered, standing out of site.

"Tom was a level 2 Guardian cadet when I applied for the Academy. He arrested a gang of virals that tried to make off with a supply of Hidden File Commands a cycle before I was partnered with Dixon." Bob quickly explained before looking back down the screen. "Tom what are you doing here?"

"If I had to guess I'd say I'm here to clean up your mess and I brought help. I need a location to land so we can better explain it."

"Hey look!" Mouse diverted their attention as she pointed to the Principal Office.

They watched as a squad of ABCs lifted up and headed for the approaching ships.

"Tom, you've got viral forces coming your way. Can you make your way to Kit Sector?" Bob asked urgently.

"No problem." Tom nodded before he cut the connection.

Xxx

"All right, the locals know we're here. Both good and bad, follow me as we head to Kit Sector and watch out." Tom instructed.

"I see them." Aelita spotted them on the sensors. "Shall we detach?"

"No, its better we get in close to Mainframe and lose them in the city. Follow me in." Tom said, jamming the throttle forward.

His ship exploded forward with the Skid following it as the ABCs came in range and fired. They flew over the docks and into the city, dodging buildings, bridges, and other vehicles that came their way.

"You know, despite me being digital almost my whole life and I'm really bad at video games involving cars." Aelita commented as Tom made a sharp turn.

"At least you don't get car sick." Noah groaned. "I thought I'd be throwing up my entire code by now."

"We'll just have to trust Bob to have a plan…not that he ever was good planning!" Tom said as ABCs followed them into the park at Kit Sector.

"Great, only cover got now is trees." Duncan mumbled.

That was in fact the idea as AndrAIa and Mouse leapt out from a tree as an ABC flew under the branches and Mouse sliced open the hatch, allowing her to jump in.

"Hey what the-AH!" The pilot screamed just as AndrAIa jumped in.

"You take the controls, I got the guns!" Mouse said, sitting down.

"All right!" AndrAIa grabbed both levers on the pilot chair and quickly leveled out the ship before it crashed.

"Yee-Ha!" Mouse shouted as she opened fire, taking out two ABCs behind the two ships.

"What the?" Gwen looked back. "They're taking out their own!"

"That's got to be Bob." Tom said with a small smile.

Matrix leveled his gun as the ships approached; once Tom's ship and Skid were out of the way he fired, blasting the last ABC behind them while avoiding the one Mouse and AndrAIa were in. With the enemy ships gone, the commandeered ABC flew next to the ships with Mouse sticking her head out of the top hatch and waving at them.

"Oh wow!" Izzy looked at Mouse with wide eyes. "Look at her hair! It's so fiery! Even more than mine! She's got to show me how she makes it glow!"

Dac beeped as Bob's face appeared on the screen. "Tom, follow that ship and we'll meet up."

"Roger that." Tom nodded as the ABC took the lead and led the two ships into the depths of the city.

Xxx

They may have won the battle but the war was far from over. Megabyte had been watching from the War Room and his eyes narrowed dangerously as the ships vanished. He closed the window and banged on the controls as he opened one, planning to contact a certain someone. The Eye of XANA appeared on the screen before that certain someone actually answered.

"Oh, Megabyte." XANA answered his usual smirk and polite manner, not minding Megabyte's glare. "I heard things were going well for you. What reason do you have calling me?"

"I'm sure you know." Megabyte pointed at XANA. "It seems you have been holding back on me, since someone was able to breach the fire wall you created to cut Mainframe from the rest of the Net. Now who in the Net would have the power to do that?"

"Who indeed." XANA chuckled. "A bold move, coming to Mainframe through the Net. I knew they'd be daring but do they fear me that much that they risk devolving in that pile of corrupted data."

"You don't deny that you let them come here?" Megabyte glared darkly.

"Let them? Don't presume to single me out for blame, Megabyte. I would have had them crushed if you had thought to inform me of the special traps that hacker placed around Mainframe's Web Address, the traps that repelled my Web Sharks." XANA softly retorted. "I am not someone who highly tolerates surprises."

Megabyte growled softly, annoyed that XANA was inferring that the reason these new enemies were here because of _his_ incompetence.

"But I do acknowledge my own failure." XANA waved it off. "The plan to get rid of them failed and now a new one must be made. One that covers the strengths and weaknesses of all our obstacles."

"Keep your drones where they are, _I_ am in control here. This is _my_ hunt and your enemies just became _my_ prey." Megabyte sternly replied.

XANA then did something that angered Megabyte greatly.

He laughed. "You have no idea of the power these warriors wield. Yes, I believe you'd be a match for two or three of them but all _eight_ of them. Even your sister would have a hard time with them, especially the most powerful one. Don't be blinded by pride and anger, Megabyte."

Megabyte snarled angered by how XANA disrespected him. No matter how powerful he was Megabyte would never think that XANA was superior to him in any way. XANA no doubt knew of this and was utterly fascinated by it, going out of his way to provoke Megabyte just to study the virus' reaction. Megabyte to his credit chose not to let himself be provoked but deep down he was scheming of how he could successfully take control and get rid of XANA.

"You have an army to call upon but in this situation quality might be better than quantity. You'll need to outsmart them, manipulate the situation, and force them to fight on _your_ terms. I'm sure you are familiar enough with Mainframe to think of a few ideas." XANA smirked.

"Of course." Megabyte nodded, knowing that XANA was going to do anything but obey his demands.

The bothersome pest was just humoring him while scheming of how to turn this situation to his advantage.

"Well, Megabyte since you believe this does not require my attention I'll leave it in your hands. Have fun. Ta-Ta!" XANA chuckled as the Vid-Window closed.

"We'll see what makes these enemies of yours so powerful, XANA." Megabyte literally hissed the name out.

Xxx

"Master?"

XANA didn't turn around as Lilith appeared behind him, bowing her head. "My apologies for not stopping them in time. I didn't anticipate that fire wall."

"It no longer matters anymore, Lilith. They are Megabyte's problem now." XANA replied, no longer bothered by the warriors escaping his grasp. "The fault also lies with me for not anticipating a fire wall or Megabyte's neglect in mentioning several key details."

"Do you wish for me and the others to go to Mainframe and stop them ourselves?" Lilith asked.

"No. Let Megabyte try and take them out. The more he tries to get rid of them the longer they are distracted." XANA smirked. "They may have escaped the Web but the rules have completely changed. This battle will be much different than what they are used to."

Xxx

The hijacked ABC led Tom's small ship and the Skid into the depths of Level Thirty One, the very bottom of Mainframe.

"Nice place." Duncan noted looking at the dark streets the ships went down. "The only thing missing is a knife wielding maniac to come out and try to hijack our rides."

A large warehouse door opened allowing the ships to enter and the door close quickly. The Warriors could see little walking people resembling ones and spheres that resembled zeros that must have been those Binomes Tom talked about. They all had guns and large turrets were pointed at the ships as they landed.

"Nice welcome." Noah commented.

"Remember, Noah, they've never seen anything like us before and they're trying to save their city. Paranoia is to be expected." Gwen replied as the cockpits opened. "No one does anything stupid or crazy."

"Let me do the talking." Tom jumped out of his ship and landed on the ground.

Bob, Matrix, Mouse, and AndrAIa walked forward as the others hopped out. The sprites and binomes took note of the sprites with Tom, noticing the many different and unique outfits they wore but they couldn't see any icons on them. They were around the same age as AndrAIa but the question on everyone's mind was who they were. Guardians normally operate by themselves and almost never had to involve sprites, even local law Viral defense forces.

"Bob!" Tom said as he led the group up the leaders.

"Tom, I can't believe your really here!" Bob smiled as his fellow Guardian stopped in front of him. "When we tried to get a distress call out we couldn't reach anyone."

"I know, I tried to get into contact with you earlier but we were cut off by the fire wall." Tom nodded and gestured to the group behind him. "If it wasn't for these guys I'd have been deleted."

"Who are they?" Bob asked, looking at the Lyoko Warriors.

"They are here to help me." Tom sternly looked at Bob. "What has been going on here?"

Xxx

Enzo had taken the chance to sneak into the Principal Office while the guards were distracted and right now he was wandering the halls, trying to find his sister.

'Come on, sis. Where are you?' Enzo thought as he tip toed around a corner…

And bumped into a squad of virals on patrol.

"Hey you!" The leader pointed his staff at Enzo. "Hold it right there!"

Enzo held up both hands, knowing if he tried to run they would fire and delete him. However as the virals moved around him something inside of Enzo stirred. Moving at a speed he didn't even think he was capable of he grabbed the leader and a surge of red energy traveled out of Enzo's icon and through his arm until it traveled into infected binome's icon. The squad leader screamed as his blue skinned changed back to normal, his eye that was red with green irises changed back to normal and his icon reverted from Megabyte's viral colors to a normal white and black. The other three infected binomes were still in shock as Enzo repeated what he had done and changed them back to normal.

"We're….free!" The security officers cheered, free from Megabyte's control.

"I know…but how?" Enzo looked down at his hand. "The last time something like that happened was when Hexadecimal's infection transferred to Welmen Matrix and restored his memories."

'Hex, did you do this?' Enzo thought.

'Mother's power and love flows inside of you, Enzo. It can counter and cure any viral infection as it did when she sacrificed herself.' Harmony's voice whispered in Enzo's mind.

"Mother's power…but then that means!' Enzo looked up with shock. 'Your mother is…'

'Yes, Enzo. Mother was Hexadecimal, the very virus who gave you this power to protect you and show you not all viruses are evil.' Harmony replied with pride.

'But how…'

'All will be explained when we meet.'

Xxx

The meeting had moved into the briefing room that was basically a dark room with a single light bulb hanging over a long table with a few reports scattered all over it.

"And that's what happened up to now." Bob finished explaining what had happened since Turbo's last conversation with him.

Tom sighed as he listened to everything that happened. "What a mess this has become."

"So…will help be coming?" Mouse asked. "Anymore Guardians on the way?"

"Unfortunately I haven't spoken to Turbo since before my mission so I'll need to contact him and tell him the situation." Tom threw a look at Bob. "I'll be calling for that viral containment team that should have been called the nano you found out Megabyte was back."

Bob winced under the look and AndrAIa took over. "So why are you here and why are those other sprites with you?"

The Lyoko Warriors were left to wait outside of the briefing room because there too many of them to be trusted in the same room as the rebel leaders.

"They met me…while I was out trying to find the source of Megabyte's upgrade." Tom hesitantly replied. "Turbo may have allowed you to go after Megabyte, Bob, but there were still questions that needed answers like how Megabyte could upgrade in the Web."

"Why? I mean the Web is made up of fragmented and corrupted data that could have given Megabyte his new powers." Bob looked confused.

"A place like the Web giving a virus the power to shape shift and create duplicates of himself? Even Megabyte had been mutated by the Web it's not possible that he would gain powers like these." Tom replied. "The corrupted data in his body couldn't do that even if he had your code to protect him. At the very least he would changed like you, but he came back stronger and fully repaired from the last battle."

"So, you think Megabyte had help?" AndrAIa asked.

"You don't sound surprised." Tom remarked.

"We guessed Megabyte had help when a download took place and left us trapped with no way to use portal and no way to call for help." AndrAIa explained. "If it was Megabyte's doing it the sky would have been change to show his signature colors."

"Well, nice to know Bob has some smart people working with him." Tom nodded with smile. "Megabyte gained a new ally in the Web and that's what led me to meeting those sprites out there."

Everyone shared a look and then looked back at him.

"Out there is a new system called Lyoko, it's different than any other system we've ever encountered before. The sprites there have an enemy who has the power to upgrade viruses and control Web Creatures to a degree that it can use them to infect other viruses, turning them into its pawns while giving them new powers and upgrades." Tom explained.

Everyone at the table looked like they had a hard time believing it.

"Believe me; I know how random it sounds." Tom hastily replied. "But it's true, because this thing, XANA is responsible for Megabyte's new powers and what the download has done."

"Okay…assuming your right what can they do?" Bob asked.

"Let's find out." Tom smiled.

He led them out of the briefing room and back out to where the warriors were waiting with a few of them talking to the binomes. Noah and Duncan were admiring the captures ABCs and the few CPU ships the rebels had managed to acquire. Most of the others were sitting around the Skid, feeling a little awkward from all the stares they were getting. They watched as Tom lead the leaders forwards and stood up as Bob stepped forward.

"Hi, I am Guardian 452 but you can call me Bob." Bob offered his hand.

"Hello, I'm Aelita." Aelita shook Bob's hand. "These are my friends."

"Gwen."

The pale skinned girl dressed in black and blue with a dark jacket covering her back like a cape nodded.

"Bridgette."

"Hi." The girl with green eyes and blond hair in a pony tail, dressed in a blue body suit without sleeves showing wave shaped tattoos and showed her midriff shyly waved. A few of the binomes had been staring at her and the other girls because of their unique clothes.

"Trent."

"Hello." The young man dressed as a musician said politely with his best smile.

"Heather."

The girl with raven haired tied in a short pony tail wearing a green short kneed sleeveless outfit held by a sash tied around her waist but showed a thin layer of fish net down to her thighs, dark green arm bands covering everything up to her forearms said nothing but nodded in their direction.

"Courtney."

"Hello." The tanned skinned girl wearing a black and gold dress that went down to her mid thigh, white boots and knee guards, a head band with a pink ruby in the center and earrings with small diamonds said with a smile.

"Noah."

"Hey." The young dark haired tanned skin boy wearing a dark trench coat, dark boots, and black gloves with red veins simply said.

"Duncan."

"Yo." A black haired young man with teal eyes wearing black clothing with chains and spiked armor shrugged.

"And Izzy."

"HI!" The orange haired girl with green eyes and pointed ears wearing a red and orange robe and was barefooted waved her hand cheerfully.

"You know, from the way Tom talked about you guys you look a little…" Bob searched for the right word.

"Young?" Gwen asked.

"Short?" Noah asked.

"Weird?" Izzy asked.

"Uh…." Bob trailed off.

"It's all right, in our system we are considered young too but we were still capable at what we do." Aelita nodded.

"So, what can you do?" Matrix asked, still  
skeptical.

"Well, some of our abilities are too dangerous to be used here but we can prove we can help by going after Megabyte." Aelita replied.

"Are you sure you know what you're dealing with?" AndrAIa asked.

"Believe me, we all know what we're dealing with." Aelita nodded. "Here I'll show a small bit of what I can do."

Aelita stepped back and held up a single hand. Everyone watched in surprise as an orb of pink energy appeared in the palm of Aelita's hand.

"Glitch, scan." Bob held up his keytool.

Looking over the reading he was surprised to see that the small energy field Aelita was generating was as powerful as a high powered energy beam produced by a key tool. Gwen was next, pulling out a rod from a holster at her knee and it extended into a scythe, making more than one sprite or binome jump back. Gwen twirled her scythe for a few nano seconds before changing it back into a rod and inserting it back into her holster.

Courtney did the same with her staff, twirling it with one hand casually before changing back and putting it away. Duncan pulled out his sword and it flashed with green fire a nano-second before it was extinguished on its own. Bridgette pulled out her swords and combined them into a surf board.

"Well, well…" Ray Surfer watched interested as Bridgette stood on her board and floated a few feet above the ground.

Of course he looked away when he saw Mouse looking at him from the corner of her eyes.

Heather took aim at the wall and fired a shuriken and then to everyone's shock she vanished before their eyes.

"A Hidden File command?" Bob asked. "I haven't seen anyone able to become invisible like this before."

"Comes in handy." Heather replied as she reappeared.

Noah walked towards the wall and to everyone's shock he walked through the wall and then stuck his back through it. "Do you believe in ghosts?"

"Gh-gho-ghost?" A binome stuttered.

"I'll take that as a yes." Noah walked back.

Trent took out his guitar and played a note that let out a blast of fire that hit the wall. "Sorry! This thing doesn't have a lot of features that are safe to test indoors."

"My turn! My turn!" Izzy hopped up and down.

She suddenly changed into a tiger right before everyone's eyes.

"A shape shifter?" AndrAIa gasped in shock. "But most shape shifters can only mimic someone else's appearance."

"Unfortunately Izzy can only change into animals." Aelita replied.

Izzy then changed into a dog that barked at them, then she changed into a cat with big green eyes making a few rebels commenting on how cute she now looked. She changed into a parrot and flew onto Aelita's shoulder.

"RAK! I like this form best! RAK!" Izzy said. "I can speak English and Parrot! RAK! Now if I can only lay an egg. RAK!"

"So, is that enough to convince we can help?" Aelita asked, lowering her hand.

The assembled sprites and binomes were rendered speechless by the display of the Warrior's powers. Tom had to suppress the urge to laugh at them. If they thought the Warriors were impressive now wait until they who what they are _really_ capable of.

"Well, I suppose that everything's in order." Tom nodded, diverting everyone's attention onto him. "In the meantime I need to speak to Turbo."

"You sure you can reach him?" Bob asked.

"If the fire wall is down that whatever that was jamming communications might have gone down with it when we arrived." Tom pointed. "The Guardians will need to know the possible threat this XANA could be and that Megabyte may have just been the beginning."

Xxx

Megabyte was many things but he was not a fool.

He knew that XANA didn't have faith that he'd be able to stop new arrivals from teaming up with the rebels and challenging his power. If these beings could challenge XANA then they are obviously very formidable. Megabyte knew just how powerful XANA was compared to Guardians, Sprites, and even Codemasters and Viruses. If he was going to take them out he would have to unfortunately follow XANA's advice, using stealth and strategy.

Closing his eyes he split himself into two different beings again.

Looking at his counterpart he nodded. "I will deal with the outsiders myself. You stay here and manage the Principal Office's defences, make sure nothing gets in."

His counterpart nodded and turned to the controls to carry out his job. Megabyte walked out of the War Room, confident his counterpart and Dot could handle defending the Principal Office. He walked into the hanger bay, watching as his troops prepared a squadron of ABCs.

"All forces ready and at your command, sir!" Lieutenant Chauncy saluted.

"Excellent. This is will be a test run, Lieutenant. We have new enemies so we must measure the strength of their powers before we attack. We will watch them in battle, observe their strengths and weaknesses and when we know everything we need to know that is when we will in full force." Megabyte grinned. "And I know the best to bring the rebels out."

"How is that sir?"

"Slaughter." Megabyte narrowed his eyes. "Launch a full out attack on anything non-viral. Take no prisoners and show no mercy."


	19. Chapter 19

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything belonging to Code: Lyoko, Total Drama, or Reboot. Code Lyoko is Property of Moonscoop, Reboot is the property of Mainframe Entertainment and Total Drama is the property of Fresh TV.**

Xxx

Chapter 18

"Mainframe is divided up into six sectors, Kits, Baudway, Floating Point, Beverly Hills," Bob showed them a map of Mainframe.

"Good thing Lindsay's not here or she'd want to go shopping." Noah whispered as when they heard Beverly Hills.

Courtney elbowed Noah and everyone focused back on Bob.

"Wall Street and Ghetty Prime. We're right now in Level 31, the lowest level in the city but it's the hardest to navigate so it's perfect for hiding from Megabyte's troops. It's hard to fight him since we're trying to avoid collateral damage so we focus on Ghetty Prime mostly because it serves as the industrial sector and primary source of Megabyte's weapons." Bob pointed at the Principal Office. "This here is out target, the Principal Office. The central operating center of the city and where Megabyte's hold up, giving him complete control of the city. If we want to save the city we need to take back control of the Principal Office as well as reverse whatever file download Megabyte used to take control."

"This file download wouldn't happen to have anything to do with why the sky changed color, would it?" Tom asked.

"Yeah, there was a slight power outage and when we made it out we discovered the sky changed color which only happens during a file download." Bob nodded.

The Lyoko Warriors and Tom shared a glance when they heard Bob's explanation. That meant that XANA already had downloaded something into the city and by extension the computer that the system represented.

"We need to be careful how we do this because one wrong move and the city will end up in a data bath." AndrAIa took over. "Which is where you call come in."

The Lyoko Warriors watched as AndrAIa pointed at various buildings in Mainframe's sectors.

"We have a plan but we didn't have the strength or man power until now, thanks to you." AndrAIa nodded to them. "We have mapped out various weapons depot, power stations, viral patrols, and communications. If we run a series of hit and run attacks we can disrupt Megabyte's hold over the city and force him to redeploy his forces to try and capture us meaning he'll draw more forces away from the Principal Office."

"Then you have a group infiltrate the Principal Office and take control." Heather guessed making everyone look at her and she shrugged. "I've seen and done similar plans before."

Anyone who knew her understood what she was talking about.

"Heather, Izzy, and Noah might actually be the best at infiltrating the Principal Office undetected." Aelita nodded. "Izzy can shape shift into a small animal that can sneak past the scanners while Heather's invisibility and Noah's intangibility make them virtually impossible to catch or detect."

Bob shared a look with the other rebel leaders before facing them again. "If you don't mind a little company."

"Of course." Aelita nodded.

This was their home and they had just met so it was natural for them to be a little suspicious.

"We don't know exactly what Megabyte's planning, especially because we know that he closed the rift into the Web so he's likely going to have his troops probe and search the city for whoever's arrived and delete them on sight." Bob continued. "So be careful out there because there is a chance Megabyte himself will be out there, disguised as a civilian or a viral officer."

The Warriors shared a concerned glance. The profile on Megabyte suggested that he would be a formidable opponent for any one of them in a fight, especially since like the viruses from before his powers had been enhanced by XANA.

"So each of you will be paired with one of us because we all have experience in dealing with how Megabyte thinks and fights." Bob gestured to himself and the leaders. "We'll be your guides and help you getting to know Mainframe but we'll need your input on how Megabyte's ally, this XANA works and what he wants."

"To be honest Bob, we're in the dark as much you are. We didn't know about the Net or other systems so XANA has a head start on us but we have several guesses." Aelita stepped forward. "When Tom came to our system he was attacked by a team of viruses that were apparently class threes and fours."

"Class threes and fours?" Bob gasped. "Viruses almost never travel in packs, especially ones of these levels."

"I thought the same too, Bob but it was clear that these viruses were different and seemed to be following orders. Given the fact that they entered Lyoko and came after me, it's obvious XANA considered me a threat that needed to be removed." Tom replied.

"We think XANA is recruiting an army of virals for taking over Lyoko and possibly the Net. We know that Megabyte helped him forge a connection to the Net and that Megabyte's only the start of what XANA has planned." Gwen spoke up. "So it's possible that other systems have been experiencing what you people have been right now."

"Megabyte would never accept anyone taking control of the Net or the Supercomputer other than himself. There's no way he's not plotting a way take control." Bob replied.

"Good luck with that. XANA's not someone to trick or fool easily." Duncan commented.

"Neither is Megabyte." Bob pointed out.

"Regardless the sooner we get Mainframe freed from viral control the sooner we can help other systems." AndrAIa cut in.

Xxx

Tom slipped away and lifted up his keytool. Cody's face appeared on the screen. "_Hey Tom, what's up?_"

"I just have a few questions I need answered away from the others." Tom whispered. "Like what to do about this file download?"

"_I heard. So XANA's already got something downloaded into the system._" Cody replied.

"Is there anything you can do? You already hacked the system before." Tom pointed out.

"_It's not the simple, Tom. XANA's codes are amazingly complex, even if I was greatest hacker on the planet. They can adapt to almost any kind of hacking, it took me forever just to get you guys into Mainframe but they mentioned the Principal Office right?_"

"Right." Tom nodded.

"_If we hook the Skid up there and link the Principal Office to Lyoko I'll have a better time removing the file XANA downloaded_._ I could even run the anti-virus scan._"

"If you do that everything viral in the system will be cleaned." Tom said, realizing the importance of the plan.

"_Taking out the bad guys with one scan._" Cody smirked.

"This is great, Cody. If it works we'll have the system back and safe in no time. Of course that won't solve all our problems. We need Megabyte alive long enough to find out what XANA's planning." Tom nodded.

"_What do we do?_"

"Follow Bob and the others in taking the city back. I need to get to the Supercomputer and warn the Guardians." Tom replied.

"_You're leaving them? Is that a good idea?_"

"I need Turbo and the others knowing what kind of threat we're dealing with. The Guardians are spread out after what happened with Daemon and if XANA is worse than Daemon we need to act fast, very fast."

"_All right, good thing that the firewall is down now._"

"I'll make sure the others know."

Xxx

ABCs moved down the streets of Mainframe with the citizens looking on in fear from their homes. As the ABCs moved in a single formation the lead binome, Lieutenant Chauncy held up his hand which caused the convoy to stop. With another gesture the ABCs aimed their cannons at houses, buildings, anything that might be inhabited. One more gesture the ABCs fired.

Xxx

"You're leaving?" Bob asked.

"I know, it's sudden and I just got here with some reinforcements." Tom nodded. "But the Guardians need to know what they are dealing with and if this is happening to other systems we'll need a lot more help."

The Lyoko Warriors shared a small glance with each other, wondering if it was a good for Tom to go. Sure he had good reasons but all the same it would be easier with him around. They may have made a good impression but that was a long way from gaining the trust of the natives.

"Now that the firewall surrounding Mainframe is down I can try and contact Turbo but I need to make sure that there is still Supercomputer with a Guardian Armada still there." Tom continued. "We may be looking a threat on par with Daemon."

"So all you need now is Tear." AndrAIa pointed out.

"There is a little something I still need to plan." Tom nodded. "You guys can handle Megabyte long enough."

"But Tom is that the best idea? Right now we're low on numbers and reinforcements." Bob pointed out.

"Look, Bob. I know you can handle it long enough for me to come back with a containment team, something you should have asked for in the beginning." Tom stated sternly, causing Bob to wince. "If there was a containment team at the beginning maybe Megabyte would have been caught."

Bob could not form an argument there. If he had called for help rather than trying to capture and reprogram Megabyte maybe the Principal Office would not have been captured and Dot would not have been…

"Right now, I need you to start acting like the Guardian Dixon and Turbo believed you had the potential to be and not a scientist with theories on how to change viruses for the better." Tom stated. "If you see Megabyte you delete him, no chances, no offers, and no attempts to reprogram him. If we lose here we lose the Net."

Everyone had nothing to reply to that but they all knew he was right.

"Sirs! Commanders!"

They all turned around to see a Binome rebel knock the front door open, gasping for breath. "Virals…attacking….the city!"

"Attacking? Who?" Matrix walked forward towards the panting binome.

"Everyone! They're attacking everyone! People, buildings, and anything that moves!"

AndrAIa turned to the floating windows and brought up the feeds from the security cameras. Everyone watched as viral forces attacked the city with citizens running in fear.

"He's right! Virals are attacking every sector!" AndrAIa gasped. "Why? What's Megabyte got to gain from this?"

"He knows he's got new enemies…." Bob looked at the Lyoko Warriors. "He's trying to provoke us into attacking or else he'll burn the city to the ground!"

The Warriors all looked worried now, even ones like Duncan, Heather, and Noah. They expected a fight but Megabyte had proven to be just as cruel as XANA. Threatening the lives of an entire city just to bring them out of hiding?

"What are we waiting for?! We got to out there and help them!" Matrix pulled his gun out.

"And do what? If we go out there we'll be sitting ducks for Megabyte's forces to delete us!" AndrAIa pointed out.

"But we can't do nothing!" Mouse pulled out her sword. "Matrix is right, we got to go out and fight."

"But we need a plan…" AndrAIa looked to Bob for support. "Right Bob?"

"We do but we can't stay here and let Megabyte destroy Mainframe." Bob nodded. "The time for hiding is over."

"Bob?" AndrAIa asked.

"Tom, your right. I gave Megabyte so many chances to change, I showed him mercy and to be better but he shoved every chance in my Facebook and people ended up suffering because of it." Bob looked at Tom and then at the others. "I can't do that again, not with everything at stake. Megabyte could have left to try and infect the Supercomputer but he didn't? Why? Because it's not about the Supercomputer or having absolute power anymore. It's revenge…On me, on Dot, on Matrix, on Mouse, on Phong, on everyone in this city for defying him. He wants to look down at us with a look of triumph for winning the fight he lost before."

Matrix and Mouse shared a nod while everyone else, even the Lyoko Warriors looked ready to move.

"If Megabyte wants a war we'll give him one but we still need to get into the Principal Office so we can undo everything Megabyte has done here. That's where you guys come in." He turned to the Warriors. "We'll need anything you have to sneak into the Principal Office and hopefully we can rescue everyone. AndrAIa, you'll go with whoever's infiltrating the Principal Office because Megabyte will be on the lookout and if Mouse goes he'll suspect something's up. There's no doubt he remembers who programmed that portal that sent him into the Web."

Mouse took the chance smile in satisfaction at that.

"AndrAIa's just as good as you are but Megabyte considers Mouse the higher threat when it comes to computers and hacking and that's what we need to use. He'll be watching for all of us, especially our new allies so we let's give him what he wants." Bob stepped forward. "Let's give him the best show in the Net as a going away present!"

The rebels surrounding the group cheered, agreeing with every word Bob had said.

Bob then turned to the Lyoko Warriors. "Will you help us?"

"Do you even have to ask?" Aelita smiled.

Everyone behind her either looked eager or determined to help out.

Xxx

Smoke rose up into the air as terrified binomes and very few sprits ran for their lives as the viral army continued its rampage of destruction.

"Continue the attack! Lord Megabyte wants no one left online!" Lieutenant Chauncy shouted as the ABCs moved forward.

Guns and rocket launchers aimed at the running citizens but they stopped when a pink haired sprite landed in front of them with angel wings on her back keep her in the air.

Aelita held out both hand in front of her. "Plasma beam!"

Two beams of light shot out and blasted through the ABC line, knocking them out of the sky.

"Shoot her!" Chauncy shouted.

A small red lizard on the front of the ABC in front of Chauncy and changed into a orange haired sprite wearing a red and orange robe with sharp fingers and when she grinned the Lieutenant saw fangs.

"Hi!" Izzy waved.

She jumped into the air again and changed into a red gorilla and fell down like an anvil. The front of the ABC was smashed and tipped forward with Chauncy launched out of the cockpit like a cannon ball.

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" Chauncy screamed.

Trent landed next to Aelita and played a lightning note that hit and blasted another ABC as it flew into the battle. He then played a shield note as another shot at Aelita with her back turned. She turned around and nodded with a grateful smile as they pressed their backs against each other and started attacking the surrounding virals.

Three ABCs flew into attack but Bridgette and Ray flew in on their surfboards distracting them.

"Nice board! I take it you know a few moves!" Ray commented on Bridgette's board.

"Maybe." Bridgette replied.

"Well, let me show a few of mine!" Ray leaned down on his board and it flew back with its bottom end facing the ABCs.

He flew under the middle one and came up from its back and slammed the front end of his board into the ABC's main gun. The ABC tilted forward and fell towards the street below.

"Nice one!" Bridgette commented, flying above. "I could get use to this! Now it's my turn!"

She turned and flew straight at the ABC chasing her.

Xxx

"That girl's gone crazy!" LeShawna remarked as she and the other warriors currently out of commission watched from the lab.

Xxx

Just as the ABC was about to ram her Bridgette's board split into her swords as she jumped up. As she jumped up she grabbed the handles of her swords and somersaulted above the ABC and her swords sliced through the hull, cutting through wires and consoles and sent the ABC spiraling out of control through the air. Bridgette then put her swords back together, reforming her board and flew up just as she was right above the street below.

"How do you like that?" Bridgette asked, looking up and spotting the impressed Ray Surfer.

"Now that's a handy little board." Ray remarked, truly impressed.

He didn't exactly where she got a board like that but she showed she was just as skilled a surfer as he was. As the last ABC flew at them they looked at each other.

"Double team?" Bridgette asked.

"You lead." Ray replied, gesturing her to take the lead like a gentlemen.

"Why thank you!" Bridgette shot off to the city below. "Try to keep up!"

Ray followed her with the ABC right behind him. The two surfers flew through the city, avoiding buildings, bridges, towers, and anything else that would have hurt if they slammed into it.

"He's keeping up?" Bridgette asked.

Ray glanced back for a nano second before turning back to face the front. "Yep, impressive!"

"How about this?" Bridgette angled her board down blow as they came upon the industrial sector of mainframe.

"Are you random? That looks dangerous!" Ray shouted before showing a big smile. "Just how I like it!"

They flew down into the industrial sector with the ABC still chasing them. Bridgette swerved out of the way as huge pipe flew past her with Ray copying her actions. The ABC's side was hit by the pipe and left a huge scratch but it still chased after them. Bridgette leaned forward and laid her front on her board as they came upon a horizontally angled pipe and it flew over her but Ray actually jumped over the pipe and landed back on his board. The pipe knocked the ABC's main gun off but it still pursued them.

"Persistent little bloke isn't he?" Ray commented.

"Well, let's see him follow us through that!" Bridgette pointed up ahead.

Ray looked forward and spotted a sharp corner leading into a very narrow looking ally. "Make a turn that sharp at this speed in an ally that narrow? That settles it; you must be my long lost sister!"

"Always glad to try this with a fellow surfer!" Bridgette remarked with a smile before turning serious. "Just wait for me to give the signal!"

"For you…anything!" Ray nodded.

As they came upon the corner with the ABC gaining up on them they came upon the corner and just about missed it.

"NOW!"

Both surfers turned their boards very sharply, enough that looked like they were literally skidding through the air! They shot off into the narrow ally with the ABC turning but unfortunately the front end slammed into the wall and it was sent spinning through the air before it crashed onto the road. Both surfers stopped and watched the downed ABC and turned back to each other with smiles.

"Now _that_ was some fine surfing." Ray remarked.

He had never encountered anyone who was this good at surfing before. She might even give him a run for his money but doesn't mean he'd go down without a fight for the title of best web surfer in the Net.

"Thanks!" Bridgette nodded with a smile. "Come on, let's go and help the others!"

Ray nodded and the two surfers quickly flew back to where the main fighting was happening.

Xxx

Near Dot's Diner a group of ABCs were moving to reinforce the viral forces currently in battle with the rebels in the Kit Sector but unfortunately they were about to be delayed. Matrix landed in front of the convoy and aimed his gun, his mechanical eye targeting the lead ABC. He pulled the trigger and the lead ship was blasted out of the sky with its front smoking as it crashed into the middle of the street. He fired again but the remaining four ABCs split apart and dodged the next bullet.

"Nice gun." Duncan remarked, landing on the ground next to Matrix. "I ain't seen a lot of guns that can do that."

Matrix blew the tip of his gun. "Can you do any better?"

The ABCs aimed their cannons at them.

"Maybe." Duncan grinned.

They fired as Duncan pulled his sword and as he swung it he channeled his power through it, releasing a stream of fire that incinerated the projectiles and the ABCs themselves. They fell out of the sky, green fire burning their hull and short circuiting their systems. Matrix watched, trying to not look surprised as Duncan sheathed his sword and looked back at him.

"All right, where to next?"

Xxx

An ABC passed down a street and three heads poked out a nearby alley, watching as it made a turn.

"What exactly are we doing here?" Courtney asked.

"We need to lure most of the fighting away from the civilians right now we need to get to the main controls for Floating Point." AndrAIa explained as they quietly came out of their hiding spot. "Mouse and I have the most technical experience so we manually rig Floating Point to distance itself from the city we can limit the damage and cut the number of Megabyte's forces way down."

"Meaning we got to be on guard because old Megabyte will be on guard for a plan like that." Mouse replied, looking around carefully.

"Where do we need to do that?" Courtney asked.

"There's station at the entrance to Floating Point that controls manually in case the Principal Office is compromised." AndrAIa pointed at a tower down the street. "We get to it and everyone lures the viral troops onto Floating Point we limit the amount of damage done by the fighting."

"Okay, sounds like a good plan since we want to keep this guy distracted from noticing Heather and Noah going on ahead with Bob to infiltrate the Principal Office." Courtney nodded in agreement.

"And when Megabyte notices us he'll be less suspicious since he'll want Mouse and me in sight. He wants us out in the open so we'll give him what he wants after the show Bob gives him."

Xxx

Above each sector appeared a large Vid-Window showing Bob's face.

"People of Mainframe, for a long time we have all worked hard to make this the best system we could live despite all the loss of the Twin City, the Games, the Web, Daemon, and now _Megabyte._" Bob's face now showed an expression of self-righteous anger. "Since the destruction of the Twin City you've been a plague to the people of Mainframe with your constant attempts to infect the Supercomputer and destroyed the lives of everyone who has lived here. This ends today! Megabyte, come out and face us because this time there's no second chances and no chance to get away! We're here, Megabyte, come and get us!"

The Vid-Windows closed leaving everyone in Mainframe to contemplate Bob's declaration of war.

Xxx

Bob sighed as he sat down after the transmission ended. "How was I?"

"Good, almost like an army general." Gwen remarked. "Think he'll take the bait?"

"Don't need it." Bob stood up and looked at the map of Mainframe. "He was sniffing long before we gave him any bait. I'd feel better if Tom would try and stay."

"The guy's got his own priorities I guess." Gwen shrugged. "Heather and Noah should be on their way to the Principal Office now."

"Right, now we need to get out there and lure the virals out. Megabyte knows the face of everyone in the resistance but hopefully he won't see two unfamiliar faces coming." Bob nodded. "I got to get out there now and lead the troops, something I'd never thought I do."

"You got us." Gwen smiled reassuringly.

"And it's going a long way to helping us save the city." Bob replied optimistically. "Your friends are giving the virals a handful out there."

Xxx

As Courtney, Mouse, and AndrAIa ran towards the control tower of Floating Point passed a trembling binome who had been hiding a bench. As they ran down the street the binome they didn't noticed came out from under the bench and grinned.

"The control tower of Floating Point, huh?" The binome whispered. "Well, now I have a hint of what your true plan is."

He transformed into a small dog and ran after them.


	20. Chapter 20

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything belonging to Code: Lyoko, Total Drama, or Reboot. Code Lyoko is Property of Moonscoop, Reboot is the property of Mainframe Entertainment and Total Drama is the property of Fresh TV.**

Xxx

Chapter 19

Tom was reluctant to leave the Warriors and the Mainframers to fight Megabyte but he had to report what he knew to Turbo immediately. When he found a pile of crates he pointed his gauntlet, aiming his keytool at the pile.

"Dac, energy beam!"

The keytool fired a blast of yellow light that blasted the crates and the room was engulfed in a bright blue light as a Tear appeared.

"Dac, portal." Tom commanded.

Dac released another energy beam that transformed the Tear into a portal leading to the Super Computer.

Xxx

Once he was out of the portal Tom bolted down the platform he was on and into the Check-In-Station which was where every portal lead to when someone was entering the Super Computer.

The receptionist at the desk looked up as he ran in. "Guardian Registration ple…"

"Guardian 453!" Tom cut her off. "I need to speak to Turbo immediately. Tell him we have a Code Omega and send out a Net Wide Alert!"

"Yes sir, right away!" The receptionist replied hastily.

Tom then took off towards the Principal Office of the Supercomputer to deliver his report. The guards at entrance allowed him in and escorted him to the War Room. The doors opened revealing a long table with high ranking Guardians going through a dozen reports and Turbo was sitting at the end of the table.

"Tom?" Turbo asked, looking surprised when he spotted Tom enter. "When did you get back?"

"About a nano ago, sir. I'm sorry I didn't call first but we have an emergency situation that involves what I discovered in the Net and the origin of Megabyte's upgrade." Tom explained, walking into view of everyone at the table. "There's a possibility we may be dealing with a Net Wide crises."

"Does this have anything to do with systems going off line from viral attacks?" A female Guardian asked.

"What?" Tom glanced at her, concern written across his face.

"After you left, Tom, we started getting reports of systems cutting themselves off from the rest of the Net. First there was a report of a virus attack which then escalated into a system take over before communications ended." Turbo explained. "From what we know the attacking viruses suddenly gained an upgrade with never before seen powers that overwhelmed the viral containment and security teams."

"Then it's started." Tom said, grimly.

"What has started, Tom?" Turbo asked. "You know what's going on?"

"I believe so, sir. If I'm right we'll need to assemble the Armada for an all out viral attack on the entire Net."

Xxx

Enzo couldn't believe how far he had made it inside the Principal Office without getting deleted. He had help from an unexpected source, this presence known as Harmony who apparently gave him the power to cure Megabyte's viral infection. The team of now cured security binomes were leading him down the hall towards the War Room where he hoped he would find his sister. If he could cure these binomes than maybe he could cure Dot!

'Harmony, how is Hexadecimal your mother?' Enzo thought.

'As I said, all will be explained. Something is happening outside.' Harmony thought back. 'The battle has begun.'

"What?" Enzo stopped in the middle of the hall with the security team staring at him.

'Calm down, Enzo. Bob and the others are still online and functioning and it seems they brought in reinforcements. You must concentrate on your plan to save your sister now.' Harmony replied.

'Right, thanks. Can you tell me how they are doing?'

Xxx

As the battle in Mainframe raged a single figure stood atop of the building that was Bob's apartment, watching the fights.

'Bob has declared war on Megabyte and the others are battling his forces on the streets. And they have new people, new sprits helping them.'

The stranger watched as Ray Tracer and a teenage girl with blond hair in a pony tail both flew through the air on surfboards. On the street a pink haired girl with bright angel wings on her back blasted an ABC out of the sky.

'They are not anyone I have seen before yet they are fighting with them.' The stranger noted. 'Yet I do not see Mouse or AndrAIa.'

The person closed their eyes and on the streets below Nulls came out of the hiding placed and started scurrying through the city. She could hear their thoughts, conveying their vision into her mind and she sensed something that made her concentrate on the vision of a single null.

'Mouse and AndrAIa with another stranger heading towards Floating Point. Wait….' The stranger's eyes opened in shock. 'Megabyte!'

She spotted a single binome change into a small dog and follow after them.

'So he has returned.' The stranger frowned. 'He shall pay.'

The stranger floated up into the air and flew towards Floating Point, not caring if someone spotted her from down below.

Xxx

Dot was standing next to Megabyte's copy, coordinating the fight against the rebels and the Lyoko Warriors in the War Room.

"Give me a layout of the sector." Dot ordered.

The copy nodded at the officer who brought up a Vid-Window showing a map of the Kit Sector.

"Activate the Principal Office Defense System and target locations with the largest concentration of rebels." Dot commanded.

"But…we'll be hitting our own forces!" The viral officer pointed out.

Megabyte's copy glared at the officer who started to shake in fear. "Do it."

"Y-yes sir." The officer turned back to the controls.

Outside the Principal Office large cannons rose up from the ground and the outer walls facing the Kit Sector. The targeting computer zoomed in on the Kit Sector where the majority of the battle was taking place.

"And thus the sky rains fire upon the sinners." The Megabyte duplicate chuckled.

The cannons let out loud booming sounds as they fired and streaks of light flashed through the sky.

Xxx

Bob jumped onto a zip board and flew out of the rebel base with Gwen flying behind him, using her flight ability.

"So now what?" Gwen asked.

"Well, with Megabyte's forces occupied hopefully your friends can…"

BOOM!

Bob and Gwen looked towards the Principal Office as streaks of light flew across the sky above them.

"That doesn't look good." Gwen remarked with a worried look.

"It's not…" Bob held up his keytool. "Glitch emergency signal!"

Glitch beeped in reply.

"Attention all Mainframers! The Principal Office Defense System is active and targeting Kit Sector. Get out now!"

Xxx

Matrix and Duncan looked up, seeing white bolts flying straight towards them.

"That doesn't look good." Duncan commented, knowing when someone was shooting at him.

"RUN!" Matrx shouted as loud as he could.

Rebel Mainframers and Lyoko Warriors looked up and when they saw the white bolts flying towards them like comets they took off running as they could. Duncan and Matrix started running when the first bolt hit the ground behind them and let a large explosion followed by a loud booming sound.

"Holy!" Bridgette gasped as she and Ray dodged the incoming bolts of light.

Streets, buildings, and anything in sight exploded as the Principal Office defense system started slowly tearing apart the sector, starting with the center but reached out to cover the entire sector. Bridgette and Ray blasted through the air as a building behind them exploded. On the ground Izzy changed into a cheetah and sprinted down the street with buildings and sidewalks exploding around her. A scream rang through her ear and she glanced back to see a one shaped binome on the ground with a large piece of concrete on his leg.

She quickly turned around, not paying attention the ground right in front of where she had stopped exploding as she ran up to the trapped binome.

"Hang on little guy!" Izzy changed into an ape and lifted the concrete up.

She tossed it away and grabbed the binome, changing back into her human form and took off. It was a good thing she started running when she did because the spot she and the binome were in a nano second ago exploded. Aelita flew up and fired a plasma beam from both hands, taking out several projectiles that would have deleted a lot of rebels but there were too many to counter. Not even virals were safe; Megabyte's own forces that were closest to the rebels were destroyed instantly in the opening salvo.

"I can't believe this!" Bridgette cried as she looked down at the explosions. "They're targeting their own teammates!"

"No honor amongst Viruses." Ray replied, looking grim as he stared at devastated sector. "Never met one that cared anything besides its own code."

Bridgette was expecting many things when she came here but she hadn't been prepared for this. This was more real than the battles in Lyoko. At least when she fought in Lyoko there was no chance of civilian casualties but here…

'What have we gotten ourselves into?' Bridgette thought.

Xxx

"Sir, the rebel forces is in full retreat but we have confirmed reports of several of them hanging back to provide cover. We have confirmed one of them is the Renegade Matrix, the Web Surfer, and three unknown sprites." The viral commander reported.

"Get me a visual of those unknown sprites and tell the troops to use long range fire to attack so we can study them. Order the artillery to now provide cover fire for our secondary wave as they occupy the sector." Dot commanded. "Have our reserve forces move along the border of the Kit Sector to block any chance of escape. Send some scouts out to check if any of the rebels have already escaped and make it fast."

Megabyte's duplicate grinned at how effective Dot was as a commander. Her keen intellect, planning, and strategies were always impressive and made her a worthy adversary but with her now under his control her plans now carried the ruthlessness he required in his army.

Xxx

Bob and Gwen were almost at the battle but Bob stopped in mid-air making Gwen stop and turn to face him. "What's wrong?"

"We have company." Bob pointed forward.

Gwen turned around and spotted a fresh wave of ABCs moving towards Kit Sector. "Oh no."

"Megabyte's devastated Kit Sector and now he's calling reinforcements to cut off all escape and finish off anyone who's left." Bob frowned grimly. "I never thought of this. I knew I had trouble coming up with long term plans but this is a major FAQ up."

Gwen shook off the minor amusement from Bob's attempt to curse and focused on the battle. "Okay, but they haven't seen us yet. We can take them from behind and cut off their reinforcements before anyone else is killed."

"Two of against an armada out to delete everyone…Now that's my kind of planning." Bob made a small smile. "And the only one we got."

"Well then..." Gwen pulled out her scythe. "Time to show how _we_ deal with being outnumbered."

With that said the Guardian and the Lyoko Warrior took off towards the battle. Gwen threw her scythe at the convoy of viral bombers and watched as it spun like a Frisbee and sliced through the nearest target easily, the ABC splitting in half as the scythe spun through the air to return to its master. Along the way it sliced through another ABC cutting through the front end easily, leaving a shell shocked pilot sitting in his chair while holding the useless throttle in his hands.

"Whoa!" Bob commented as Gwen caught her scythe. "That's new!"

"You'll probably see a little more!" Gwen said as the viral forces turned to face them. "We got company."

The viral strike force split up with half proceeding to the sector while the other half moved to intercept Bob and Gwen.

"Glitch, Containment Field!" Bob pointed Glitch at the incoming viral force.

Glitch released several orbs of light that engulfed nearly half the ABCs and trapped then in bright yellow spheres.

"Go help the others! I'll take care of this!" Bob shouted.

Gwen nodded and flew after the other group converging on Kit Sector. The remaining ABCs tried to pursue her but Bob flew into their sight.

"Hi there!" Bob waved his hand. "Forgetting about little old me?"

They responded by firing which Bob dodged and fired back using Glitch, blasting one of them and leaving four more ABCs for him to deal with. Gwen flew down and threw her scythe again, knocking one of the virals out of the sky. The remaining strike force was composed of three ABCs that were closing in on the border of Kit Sector. Luckily Gwen wasn't needed as Aelita flew above the fleeing rebels and fired a barrage of Energy Fields that blasted the engines of every fighter and left them to crash on the ground.

"I take it that things got complicated?" Aelita flew up in front of Gwen.

"Yeah, I don't think Bob's good at the whole military commander thing. He didn't anticipate those cannons." Gwen explained.

"Well, we managed to save a lot of rebels and they're on their way to Floating Point like they wanted but we're going to be in a lot of trouble if someone doesn't take out those cannons." Aelita commented.

"That's a tall order, considering any attempt to reach them we'll be shot out of the sky." Gwen commented. "We can only hope Heather and Noah get in close."

"Hope is nice but I prefer a little more." Aelita replied. "No word from Courtney at Floating Point?"

"Nothing yet." Gwen shook her head. "We need to get everyone out of range of those cannons or they'll be wiped out. This is a lot more than I was expecting."

"I know." Aelita nodded. "I don't think any of us were expecting this.

"Watch out!"

Aelita and Gwen spun around and spotted the cannons launching another volley towards the rebels as they ran across the border of Kit Sector.

"I got it!" Aelita quickly flew above the streets and watched as the projectiles fell towards her.

She spread her arms out, combining her Creativity with her Plasma Beam and created a pink energy barrier over her and the streets. The barrier shuddered as the projectiles exploded against it but it held, allowing the survivors to escape. Aelita gritted her teeth as she struggled to keep the barrier up until the rebels had all escaped. Gwen landed on the roof of a building and activated her Fire Aura, sending streams of flames through her scythe as she threw it.

It spun through the air, looking like a flaming disk that sliced through falling projectiles, creating a series of explosions that lit up the dark sky.

Xxx

Matrix and Duncan looked back and watched as Aelita's barrier successfully protected the escaping rebels.

"I'll say this much, you guys are a big help in keeping everyone alive." Matrix commented.

"We're good at what we do." Duncan shrugged.

"Now we need to lure them to Floating Point." Matrix held up his gun. "The virals will follow us and we can lure the fighting away from the rest of the city."

"No good if those cannons keep firing." Duncan pointed out. "Cody?"

"_On it._"

Unlike on Lyoko Cody's voice was heard inside Duncan's head which seemed a little uncomfortable to him and hopefully to the others but it wasn't like Cody and the others back in the lab could read his mind. The Warriors were linked to the Skid and the Skid was linked to Lyoko which allowed Cody or anyone else in the lab to speak directly lab to them Duncan or the others. However only the Lyoko Warriors could hear Cody while Tom relied on Dac to contact the lab through the channel he had intercepted on Lyoko.

"_Heather and Noah are almost at the Principal Office. I'll have them take out those cannons before they go inside._" Cody continued.

Xxx

"Oh great more work." Noah sighed.

"Oh shut it." Heather replied.

They were both travelling to the Principal Office with Heather using her Invisibility to keep them hidden from enemy patrol. Heather had her hand on Noah's shoulder so when her Invisibility was active he was invisible with her.

"_We need you guys to take out those cannons before they cause some serious damage. Aelita can't keep up that barrier for too long._"

The cannons resided on the outer ring surrounding the Principal Office, functioning as the first line of defense against enemies invading the system. Noah and Heather had just slipped past the large amount of virals guarding the main paths to the Principal Office when Cody contacted them.

"We just need to slip by those guys…" Noah pointed at group of virals patrolling the end of the path leading onto the outer rung. "And we can take those cannons out."

"Fine by me." Heather's wrist blades came out.

They slowly tipped toed past the next patrol of guards and walked onto the outer ring. The cannons fired another blast at Kit Sector as Aelita and Gwen struggled to block them and save as many lives as they could.

"How do we do this? Blow them up?" Heather asked as they stood in front of the nearest cannon.

"Are you kidding? And blow us up with it?" Noah asked rhetorically. "We do this the smart way. I phase my hand in and mess up a couple wires."

"Yeah, that's the smart way." Heather replied sarcastically.

Noah carefully studied the cannon and spotted what he believed to be the main power circuit for the weapon. He phased his hand through the case and his hand carefully pulled a few wire, holding his breath….

And the cannon powered down.

"Oh boy!" Noah sighed in relief.

"Wait…you _guessed_ that would work?!" Heather pulled her hand off Noah's shoulder, rendering him visible while at the same time unintentionally losing her invisibility because of her distraction. "You went and risked blowing us up on an hunch?!"

She grabbed Noah by the collar and lifted him up in the air.

"Do you have any idea what would have happened if you were wrong?!"

As this happened the virals turned around, having heard Heather's outburst and spotted the two warriors near the deactivated cannon.

"I'm standing right here and you decide to pull off a stunt like that?! Just I'm digital doesn't mean you get to gamble and nearly kill us both!"

"Heather…" Noah started.

"I mean what kind of genius are you if you decide to risk yourself and more importantly me by gambling on whether or not the cannon explodes when you sabotage it?!" Heather continued ranting.

"_Heather…_" Cody chimed in.

"You can go ahead and do stupid things like this but when you drag me into it then you are in big trouble!" Heather didn't notice the virals surrounding them.

"HEATHER/_HEATHER_!" Cody and Noah shouted.

"What?!" Heather looked up at the sky.

"BEHIND YOU/_BEHIND YOU!_" The two geniuses shouted.

Heather looked over her shoulder and spotted the groung number of viral guards pointing their staff weapons at her and Noah.

"Oh…"

"Yeah." Noah nodded.

"Don't think you're safe. We'll come back to this later." Heather softly growled as she dropped Noah on the ground.

"Surrender or be deleted!" The lead viral said.

"Tough choice….How about…THIS!"

Heather somersaulted backs, over the group of virals and landed behind them. Launching out her feet she knocked over a dozen of them easily and fired her shuriken launchers at the staff weapons the virals were using. The virals stepped back and fired at her but she cart wheeled out of the way and jumped up into the air. She fired down on the group, taking their staff weapons out and launched her foot out as she landed and spun.

Her foot knocked over a dozen virals down easily.

"Go and take out the rest of the cannons! I'll take my chances with these guys rather risk getting blown up!" Heather shouted at Noah.

"Got it!" Noah turned and ran towards the next cannon. "I wouldn't be near her even if I was helping her."

Xxx

"Commander, our cannons are being destroyed!" A viral officer spoke up.

Dot looked at the screen and studied the two new sprites as one faced down a battalion while the other was disabling the cannons. The short one in the dark coat seemed to be able to phase through solid matter while the taller teenage girl was fast, agile, and even showed the ability to become invisible without a Hidden File Command. Megabyte's duplicate glared at the two sprites as they disabled the Principal Office's main defense cannons. His creator had neglected to get XANA to reveal their capabilities and his forces were paying for it.

Another screen appeared next to the one showing Heather and Noah. This one showed a hall way inside the Principal Office with Enzo leading a team of binomes that were not viral.

"Enzo…" Dot whispered, staring at her little brother.

The duplicate stared at Dot, studying her reaction.

"Send a team to apprehend him. I want him stopped before he gets any further, deleted or processing." Dot commanded.

The copy grinned and nodded to the officer.

Xxx

Mouse, AndrAIa, and Courtney ran into the control room of the Central Tower for Floating Point. AndrAIa and Courtney kept their staffs pointed at the door while Mouse got to work. She typed away at the console and looked at the screen.

"I got it. We have Floating Point under our control." Mouse smiled.

"Now we just need to wait for the others to bring the virals here." AndrAIa looked over her shoulder and smiled at Mouse.

"So that's your plan."

All three spun and faced a small binome walking into the room. He looked like a normal one, lacking the signature color of Megabyte's troops.

"What are you doing here?" AndrAIa questioned.

"Isn't that a little obvious…" The binome grinned sinisterly. "_Game Sprite?_"

All three stiffened as the binome transformed and changed into the terrifying form of Megabyte.

"Oh crap." Courtney swallowed.

The virus looked more terrifying and powerful up close and personal. He easily towered over her with his large muscular body, sharp claws for fingers, and the evil grin on his face easily matched the same smirk XANA sported in terms of wickedness.

"Allow me to be the first to welcome you, to my viral family." Megabyte said flexing his claws.


	21. Chapter 21

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything belonging to Code: Lyoko, Total Drama, or Reboot. Code Lyoko is Property of Moonscoop, Reboot is the property of Mainframe Entertainment and Total Drama is the property of Fresh TV.**

Xxx

Chapter 20

"CHARGE!"

The next wave of viral troops charged forward but just like the group before them they ended up getting beat down easily as a green blur ploughed through them like a tornado that unleashed an endless barrage of punches and kicks.

"RUN AWAY!"

The remaining virals turned and ran as fast as their little legs could carry them, dropping their weapons on the ground as they tried to escape.

"Aw, where are you all going?" Heather asked, stepping on a staff weapon and easily breaking it as she laughed. "I thought we were just starting to have some fun!"

"Oh jeez, sounds like she's really gone into overdrive." Noah sighed as he disabled the last cannon. "I should have known better."

"_Yes you should have. Not only because of what she did to those guys but what she did to my ears. If she talked like that on the show the producers would go bankrupt from trying to edit it out._" Cody commented.

"So I learned my lesson." Noah sighed as he walked over, watching as Heather beat down the last group of virals.

A sound made Noah turn around and look at the Principal Office. A squad of ABCs were flying towards him and Heather.

"Oh crap!" Noah spun around and ran as fast as he could. "Heather! We need to vanish now!"

Heather just knocked down another viral binome when she heard Noah calling her. She looked up and spotted the ABCs and agreed that it was time to vanish.

"You better not pull that crap on me again!" She grabbed Noah and activated her Invisibility power.

The virals in the ABCs could only watch as they vanished from their sight.

"Hey, where did they go?"

"I don't know."

"Well we got to find them or the boss will get mad!"

Heather and Noah were now quietly moving towards the Principal Office as the virals tried to find them.

Xxx

Cody smiled as he watched Heather and Noah make their way to the Principal Office and quickly checked on the others. It was a good thing a map of Mainframe had been downloaded into the Skid, allowing everyone in the lab to monitor their friends' progress. He glanced at Courtney's location and frowned. He could see Courtney entering the Control Tower for the Floating Point sector of Mainframe but the Skid was detecting something else.

Something that registered as a virus but had XANA's codes!

"Guys, I think Courtney might need some help." Cody exclaimed.

Xxx

Courtney stepped back with her staff held tightly in her hands. AndrAIa and Mouse were behind her with their weapons drawn but to be honest she was having doubts the three of them would be match for this virus. Megabyte towered over all three of them and she could tell he was dangerous, even for someone like her who has gone up against legions of XANA's monsters and generals. She remembered reading Megabyte's file, saying that he had super physical strength and speed and right now he looked even more menacing than the picture she saw of him on that file.

Not only that but just by looking into Megabyte's eyes she could tell he was not only strong but was smart and devious. She really wanted help to arrive, right about now.

"So…I take it you are one of the new sprites to have arrived through the Web. I must congratulate you as journeying a place as dangerous as the Web is no small feat. I should know…So, little girl, you wouldn't happen to know XANA would you?" Megabyte asked, leaning forward slightly.

"Maybe…" Courtney said quietly.

That reply only made Megabyte's grin grow slightly. "I knew it. The nano you arrived here I realized I was right, only someone with the power to defy something as powerful as XANA would be able to reach this system. Ah, and since you are on the side of these pathetic sprites you are obviously one of XANA's own adversaries."

Courtney frowned, not liking where this was going.

"It matters little though," Megabyte waved it off. "I just wanted to confirm my suspicions before I hunt. Regardless of who you are you are now in the city and now my prey. Let's see if you really have what it takes to stand against XANA."

With that he took a step forward and stomped on the floor, grinning as the tower shook from the loud stomp.

"You want me, come and get me." Mouse whispered as she held her katana tightly.

Courtney gulped as she held her staff, realizing Megabyte was simply toying with them. He was trying to intimidate them and to be honest it was actually working. The few times an enemy had ever intimidated her was when she had gone up against Shadow or whenever the Warriors encountered XANA's Avatar itself.

"Well, shall we start?" Megabyte asked.

Mouse let out an enraged war cry as she charged forward and swung her blade. However Megabyte evaded by simply side stepping Mouse's sword with little effort. Mouse swung again and again but Megabyte calmly avoided her slashes with what looked like little effort.

'She's making Mouse look like a slow poke.' Courtney thought.

AndrAIa had enough and jumped in, aiming her trident at Megabyte's chest, hoping to impale the virus through his black digital heart. But to her disappointment Megabyte calmly sidestepped her attack, grabbing AndrAIa's wrist, kicked her feet out from under her and threw her at Mouse. The hacker dropped her sword as AndrAIa flew at her, so as not to accidently injure the game sprite and they both fell over onto the floor.

"Now, now, at least try to put some effort into it." Megabyte chuckled.

Courtney gulped as she prepared herself. The way Megabyte easily took down Mouse and AndrAIa, two highly skilled fighters from she had seen, with relative ease really did not leave her confident she could win.

"Now….shall we?" Megabyte kindly asked.

That was the only warning Courtney received as Megabyte raced towards her, easily crossing the distance between them in less than a second and slashed at her with his right hand. Luckily for Courtney she along with most of the Total Drama cast had gained good reflexes from all the torture Chris put them through and those reflexes had only sky rocketed when she joined the battle with XANA, taking on his monsters and generals in fights no ordinary human would stand a chance in. She raised her staff and managed to block Megabyte's clawed hand but the virus used his superior strength to push her back.

"At least try and make this enjoyable." Megabyte said, hoping the fight wouldn't end too soon.

'My God, this guy's strength could rival Blade's!' Courtney thought, gnashing her teeth in frustration as she tried to hold Megabyte back.

It was from that point Courtney realized she couldn't hope to best him in a battle of strength but Courtney was not giving up without a fight. She angled her staff diagonally and stepped to the right, using Megabyte's momentum against him as he fell forward. She jumped up and launched a kick at his face, knocking him down. She angled her staff down to impale him through the head but Megabyte batted her staff away with his hand as he stood back up.

Courtney jumped back as he swiped at her with his claws. She growled as she had hoped to finish this battle quickly. When she realized she couldn't beat Megabyte through strength she switched tactics, relying on her years of ballet and dancing training to see if she could take him by surprise and it looked like it worked. The problem was that Megabyte was not only strong, he was fast and his reflexes were perhaps even sharper then her own. She was so sure she had him when she knocked him down but he easily knocked her finishing blow aside like an annoying bug.

"Well, it seems you might not be weak prey after all." Megabyte remarked with a grin. "I honestly wasn't expecting that. You seem about as skilled as the hacker and the game sprite but I can tell that you might have a few surprises…"

Honestly, Courtney considered using her Drain Ability on him but she didn't know if it worked at all. He was not one of XANA's monsters or Generals and when Aelita ran a scan on Tom it revealed he didn't have life points like any other digital program they had encountered. She didn't want to risk her ability backfiring on her in the middle of a fight, especially against a very dangerous opponent.

"Well then, let's continue." Megabyte flexed his claws.

He stomped forward, brandishing his claws while growling like a lion ready to pounce on its prey. He made the first move by slashing at her face with one hand which Courtney blocked with her staff. He then slashed at her stomach which she barely managed to dodge and then ducked under another slash at her head. Twirling her staff in her hand she blocked Megabyte's next strike and swung with all her might, the bladed end slamming into Megabyte's face.

Sparks flew into the air from the impact and Courtney held a defensive stance as she observed the wound she inflicted with her staff…

Only to find that she didn't make a single scratch!

Megabyte examined the part of his face that Courtney's staff had slashed and grinned when he felt no wound from the blow. Meanwhile Courtney was grunted in frustration and surprise that her attack had done nothing. She had gone up against monsters and generals and she never had to fight this hard and yet this virus seemed immune to her attacks! Just what the hell did she have to do to injure this bastard?

"Is it safe for a little girl to be holding something so sharp?" Megabyte waved his finger at her like a naughty child.

Courtney growled, getting angry that this guy was making a joke out of her. Throughout her life she had done her absolute best in everything she had done, school, ballet, karate, cooking, CIT training, her time on Total Drama and Lyoko was no different and she had taken pride in her accomplishments. If there was one thing that pissed her off it was when someone mocked her skills and right now this Megabyte was mocking her efforts no matter how hard she was trying.

"You want a fight, here it is!" Courtney growled as she charged forward.

She swung her staff but Megabyte dodged by jumping back. The virus landed on his feet and lunged at her. Courtney hastily blocked his blows but they were getting stronger while Megabyte still looked like he was hardly making any effort at all. Finally the virus grew bored with his fight and decided to end it by moving too fast for Courtney to react as he launched a kick at her chest that knocked her back. She slammed into the controls of the control room of the tower, sending parks into the air from the damaged consoles.

"You are interesting but I fail to see how the great and powerful XANA would see you as a threat." Megabyte remarked as he slowly strolled towards her. "To think I was actually concerned earlier. No matter."

'This guy…he's a monster.' Courtney thought as she managed to get up.

She considered herself blessed that her Lyoko form didn't feel pain thanks to the safety features installed into the virtualization sequence. If not for that Courtney was sure her back would have been broken from that last attack.

"Well now, let's take the chance to have a little talk. Shall we?" Megabyte asked pleasantly. "I would very much like to know where you come from and your connection to XANA."

Before Courtney could reply there was a loud cry as Mouse jumped at Megabyte while his back was turned and aimed to slice his head off with her sword. However Megabyte spun so fast it was like he had a face on the back of his head as he prepared to block her. Megabyte spotted movement at the corner of his vision as he raised one hand to block Mouse's sword.

"GOT HIM!" AndrAIa thrust her trident forward.

'Not quite…' Megabyte smirked.

He opened his mouth, letting out a loud and actually _bit_ the sharp blade end of the trident with his mouth! His sharp teeth came down on trident and broke it into dozens of pieces and Megabyte took pleasure in seeing the shocked and horrified look on AndrAIa's face. He was about to spit acid breath along with the remains of her trident in her face but his reflexes warned him of an attack from behind. Courtney took the chance to launch her own attack, aiming to impale Megabyte through his head with her staff.

With one mighty thrust he knocked Mouse back and spun back around, releasing acid like breath and pieces of AndrAIa's trident into Courtney's face. Courtney let out a way as she dropped her staff, little cuts appearing along face that sparked while she covered her eyes. The acid didn't hurt but left her disorientated and she fell down to her knees.

"Not a bad try. All three of you tried to attack me by using yourselves as a distraction for the other. First Mouse attacks me from behind, and then the game sprite tries her own attack while I am preoccupied with blocking Mouse, and then our new friend strikes while I am pinned." Megabyte spat a few remaining pieces of metal out of his mouth. "Impressive, especially since there was no time to actually plan such an attack. You all must really trust each other that much even if you've only just met. Against a weaker opponent you might have prevailed but I've been around you Mainframers too long to not notice your 'stick together' plans."

Courtney rubbed her eyes and opened her left eye up; relieved she was able to see just fine.

"You have no idea of the true depths of my strength. I am too powerful for just a couple of mere sprites to defeat, my body is essentially indestructible, and the better is that I still have not revealed how powerful I really am in all the battles you've had with me since my return." Megabyte grinned at the shocked looks on their faces. "Did I say something?"

'He's been holding back? Oh my God! Just how strong is really?!' Courtney cried from inside her head. 'He might be as strong as Shadow or Lilith!'

"Now then, I grow bored of this play…It's time for the curtains to fall."

"Got that right!"

Megabyte spun around as a blast of green fire slammed into him and sent him flying over Courtney and he crashed through the window. He fell out of the tower and down to the street below. When he hit the ground there was a loud rumbling sound as the street literally shook from the impact and dust flew up into the air. Courtney looked up and saw Duncan and Matrix standing at the entrance with his sword blazing with green fire and smoke rising from Matrix's gun.

"Matrix!" AndrAIa groaned as she tried to sit up.

Matrix was at her side in an instant, holding her protectively as he helped her stand up.

"Are you all right?" Matrix asked.

"Yeah. AndrAIa nodded.

She turned to Mouse and helped the hacker try to stand.

"Duncan!" Courtney gasped in relief. "When did you get here?"

"Cody called." Duncan said as he made it to Courtney's side and helped her up. "Told me you ran into trouble. Was that Megabyte?"

"Yeah and he's a lot tougher than we. I tried as best as I could but I couldn't even put a dent on that armored body of his." Courtney picked up her staff. "I think he's even stronger than a few of the generals, almost as strong as Shadow or Lilith."

"Seriously? Well, good think I sent him packing." Duncan smirked at the broken window.

"That's not going to be enough. Sorry to say but Megabyte's come back from worse than that." AndrAIa helped Mouse up. "We got to move before he gets back."

"You go; I'll take care of him." Matrix said as he headed towards the exit. "It's time he pays for what he did."

"Matrix wait!" AndrAIa called out, unable to go after him because she was supporting Mouse. "We have to stop him!"

"I'll go and make sure he doesn't get himself killed." Duncan said once Courtney was able to fully stand. "You guys hurry and make sure Floating Point is ready. The rebels are leading those bad guys here and we got to be ready for that."

"Be careful. I think the Berserker will be needed." Courtney cautioned.

"Got it." Duncan than took off after Matrix.

Courtney sighed and turned back to the controls. "The things I have to put up with…What's with bad boys and renegades always looking for a fight?"

Xxx

Matrix emerged out onto the street and saw the large dust cloud created from the impact of Megabyte's fall. Narrowing his eye while his mechanical eye glowed red Matrix held up his gun and stepped into the dust cloud, walking slowly towards the crater. Megabyte had survived worse than a simple fall and he was sure the virus was still functioning. His mechanical allowed him to see through the dust and he was able to see the crater right in front of him.

"Gun Command Line: Rapid Fire Mode." Matrix pointed his gun down at the crater.

A shadowy figure slowly crept up behind him as he prepared to fire. The shadow raised its hand but Matrix spun around and pointed his gun at its head.

"Looking for someone?" Matrix growled.

"Matrix?" The figure was revealed to be AndrAIa.

"AndrAIa?" Matrix's eye widened slightly.

"I'm so glad you're all right."

"Why are you here? Shouldn't you be looking after Mouse and the others?" Matrix didn't lower his gun.

"I came out here to help you. I know they'll he fine, it's you I'm worried about." AndrAIa raised her hands to show she was not a threat.

Matrix smiled. "Thank you…Megabyte."

AndrAIa's eyes widened as she tried to move but Matrix shot her in the shoulder. She growled as she stepped back and morphed into Megabyte.

"How did you know?"

"When you raised your hands. AndrAIa wouldn't be afraid of me, even if I ever did point my gun at her." Matrix said, aiming at Megabyte's head. "Something you never picked up on even when you disguised yourself as one of us and now it's going to cost you. It's time you pay for everything you've done to my home and family."

However Megabyte didn't try to move or even get angry, instead he simply grinned. "Very clever…"

His body than exploded in blast of white pixels, showing it was not the real him. Matrix growled and looked around, positive that Megabyte was lying in wait. The dust cloud finally cleared up but there was no sign of the virus. He found out why when metallic tentacles erupted from the ground and caught him, wrapping around his body tightly and forcing him to drop his gun.

He grunted as he tried to break free but the tentacles were too strong. Megabyte emerged from the ground, his fist punching through the ground and allowing him to climb out.

"Apparently you never picked up that I would believed you would see through me disguise." Megabyte remarked as he strolled towards the trapped renegade. "I believe this round 3, boy, and I win again."

He laughed at the angry look on Matrix's face.

"It's a pity; all of this could have been avoided if you finished me off when you had the chance. You preach about being a renegade but deep down your still the same little boy, masquerading as his hero and trying to be what you could never be, a Guardian. Acting all tough and angry because you're afraid, afraid of being hurt, afraid of losing everything you care for. The only thing you inherited from Bob is his weakness, his mercy towards viruses in his futile attempt to change my kind for the better." Megabyte grinned as Matrix tried even harder to break free. "Of course I doubt he even believes you still consider him your hero, after you abandoned him along with everyone else, including your dear sister."

"Don't you dare speak of her…" Matrix growled murderously.

"Oh, and why not? She's the most weak and foolish out of all of you. She literally threw herself at me, falling to her knees as she proclaimed her love while the real Bob lay on a table, dying from his wounds." Megabyte threw his head back as he laughed. "The great Dot Matrix, falling in love with a virus while her dear Guardian was critically injured and all because she wanted things to return they were and let go of the pain! What a joke!"

Matrix growled even louder as he struggled to break free so he could beat the virus who dared to use and betray his sister to death.

"I would have finished her off in her sleep, nice and quick so she wouldn't have had to deal with the pain but Bob's entrance was much grander. The look on her face…" Megabyte's gring was big enough to reach his ears, if he had any. "It was terrific."

"RAAAAAWWWWWWWWWW!" Matrix let out a loud roar as he broke from the metal tentacles.

He charged at Megabyte like a stampeding bull, determined to pound Megabyte's face until the virus was nothing but dust under his boots!

'Fool…' Megabyte thought.

Just as Matrix was about to throw the first punch Megabyte opened his mouth and released a blast of black smoke that enveloped Matrix. The renegade didn't understand what the black smoke was for until it was too late as the smoke somehow lifted him off the ground and suspended him in the air. Megabyte took advantage and delivered a powerful blow to Matrix's torso, sending him flying back. He slammed into a street light hard enough that it bent and fell over.

"As I told your comrades I have not even begun to reveal my true power. My dear sister Hexadecimal would be no match for what I have become now, something more than just a mere Trojan Horse Virus. I never tire and my body is indestructible." Megabyte laughed.

"You want to test that claim?"

Megabyte turned around and saw Duncan walking towards him.

"Oh, another one?" Megabyte turned around, watching amusedly as Duncan stopped a few feet away. "Are you another one of those visitors?"

"Guilty as charged." Duncan pulled out his sword. "And you're Megabyte, right? The big bad virus who's been running around, making things hell for everyone?"

"Guilty as charged." Megabyte repeated Duncan's earlier statement. "I asked the girl from before about your purpose here but she was quite rude. I don't suppose you would be willing to tell me your connection to XANA?"

"If you knew me you'd know that I'm actually worse than she is and twice as rude." Duncan smirked. "Manners just ain't my thing."

"Very well…" Megabyte stretched his clawed fingers. "Then I'll just have to extract what I want to know the hard way and that happens to be one of my specialties."

With that said Megabyte lunged forward, his feet making huge stomp sounds as he rushed at Duncan like a speeding bullet. Duncan frowned as he swung his sword and unleashed a blast of green fire. Megabyte was surprised but jumped out of the way before the flames touched him.

'A sprite that can create fire? So that was what hit me back atop of the tower.' Megabyte thought as he landed back on the ground and tried to attack again.

Duncan reacted by firing another blast of green fire and Megabyte evaded again, this time jumping over the fire and sent a metal cable down. The cable wrapped around Duncan's sword and Megabyte tugged at it as it landed, trying to pull the sword out of Duncan's hands. Duncan grunted as he pulled back, his feet slowing sliding forward as Megabyte's strength was greater than his. Duncan growled as his green sword lit up with fire and burned the cable, forcing Megabyte to release the sword.

Taking the chance to go on the offensive Duncan ran forward and swung his flaming sword, aiming to slice through Megabyte. The virus stood his ground as Duncan got closer and released his acid breath but Duncan jumped out of the way.

"Nice try! Matrix told me all about your tricks!" Duncan said as he thrust his sword forward.

However Megabyte jumped over the sword, using reflex rather than planning and launched a cable that wrapped around Duncan's neck. The virus landed behind him and pulled hard with the cable around Duncan's neck pulling him off his feet and onto his back. The cable released him but Duncan was not out of the woods yet as Megabyte delivered a devastating kick that sent him skidding down the road. He slammed into a mailbox that knocked it over.

"Oh man…" Duncan groaned as he tried to sit up. "That guy's little tougher than I thought, even if what Courtney said is true."

He may have to transform into the Berserker to fight this guy. As he stood up Megabyte landed in front of him, creating a small crater that made him fall over. The virus's foot came down on Duncan's chest while he knocked the punk's sword away.

"Now, now…" Megabyte chuckled. "Let's have no more of that, shall we? Well, since I have won this little exchange, how about answering my questions?"

"…No freaking…way!" Duncan growled.

"Ah, the old fight to the end routine? I should have expected as much. Aw well, I prefer this method actually." Megabyte released cables from his hands. "There might be some discomfort for a few nano seconds."

However before Megabyte's cables even touched Duncan a blast of green and red energy slammed into his chest and knocked him off Duncan.

"Huh?" Duncan sat up.

Megabyte flew a few feet away and crashed onto the ground. However he showed no signs of injury as he stood up, growling angrily. "Who dares?"

"I do."

Megabyte and Duncan watched as a teenage girl landed on the ground. She looked to around the same age as Enzo, long dark hair with turquoise streaks, her skin was pale green, her eyes were glowing green with a blue irises and her nails were sharp with blue nail polish. Her clothing consisted of a tank top showing her abdomen, a short skirt and long boots colored black with red and gold lines and swirls.

"An honor to meet you, Uncle." She said a smile, revealing very sharp fangs that reminded Megabyte of his sister. "Sorry for the interruption but the chance for a family reunion was too good to pass up."


	22. Chapter 22

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything belonging to Code: Lyoko, Total Drama, or Reboot. Code Lyoko is Property of Moonscoop, Reboot is the property of Mainframe Entertainment and Total Drama is the property of Fresh TV.**

Xxx

Chapter 21

"Okay, the war room should be this way." Enzo pointed to the left.

"Are this is a good idea?" The leader of the security team asked.

Enzo looked at them, knowing that even if the four of them could be of any help the Principal Office was still crawling with virals.

"Look, I managed to somehow cure you guys and maybe I can cure Dot and everyone else too." Enzo said. "We just need to stick together and we'll be fine."

"I wouldn't be so sure of that."

Enzo turned around and ducked as a green energy bolt flew over his head. He spotted another group of ten virals walking towards them while pointing their staff blasters at him and his group.

"Lord Megabyte and Commander Dot want to speak to you." The leader said with a cruel grin. "It'd be a bad idea to say no."

Enzo and the binomes took cover as the virals advanced towards them. Enzo frowned as he wondered how he was going to get past them all. Maybe…

"Okay, you got me. I surrender, please don't shoot." Enzo stepped out with his hands up.

The four binomes behind him shared a glance before they stepped out with their hands up behind Enzo.

"The Commander would like to personally see you." The leader said as the team spread out and surrounded Enzo and his group to make sure they did not try to escape.

They led the prisoners down the hall towards the main doors to the War Room just like Enzo had planned.

"Hey guys, there's something you should know." Enzo said out loud.

"And what's that?" The leader turned and faced him.

"Tag! You're it!" Enzo shouted.

He grabbed the leader and like before his icon flashed red and sent a red light through his arm and into the viral leader. Everyone stopped and gasped as the leader's viral colors faded and changed back to normal.

"Wha-What did he do?!" One of them gasped but Enzo was not done.

He ran at them, tagging them quickly as red light went through his fingers and into the binomes, destroying Megabyte's infection easily. Within a nano second the entire team was cured with all of them gaping at Enzo.

"We're free!" A binome resembling a one jumped up and down happily.

"We're cured!"

"Hooray!"

"Okay, everyone listen up!" Enzo said loudly.

All of them turned to him with their attention fixed firmly on him.

"I'm going into the War Room to save my sister but I need your help. You've all seen what Megabyte has done, whether you were viral or not. He cares nothing about you or this city, he just wants to destroy everything here for revenge. Well, I say it's time for us to say NO MORE!" Enzo declared. "This is our home and he's not welcome here! So let's take back our home and kick his viral ASCII out of here for good!"

His words had the desired effect as the binomes let out a cheer, showing him that they were with him one hundred percent.

"Let's take back our home!" Enzo declared.

They marched towards the entrance to the War Room as it opened the binomes behind Enzo almost fell apart in fear. Standing at the main entrance to the War Room was the very virus that had plagued their home for so long.

"Strong words, boy. You sound so…confident. But I suppose every child wants to consider themselves a hero." Megabyte stepped forward with a grin as he held out his claws. "I don't know what you did to free my guards from my control but I will not make that mistake."

"Come and get me, virus." Enzo challenged.

"With pleasure."

With that Megabyte charged forward but before he could even touch the young sprite two blurs, one red and yellow while the other was dark green, jumped over Enzo and slammed into Megabyte, knocking the virus down. The red and yellow blur turned out to be a big dog while the green one was a small creature shaped like a cat's head.

"Frisket! Scuzzy?" Enzo gasped.

Scuzzy was the familiar of Hexadecimal and was her favorite pet. Enzo didn't know if Hexadecimal found it in Lost Angles or made it but right now he didn't care. Reinforcements had arrived!

"Get off me!" Megabyte roared as he knocked Frisket off him but that was when Scuzzy jumped in.

The small familiar leapt forward and opened its mouth, revealing a row of very sharp looking teeth that clamped down on Megabyte's arm and bit down it. There was a blast of light as Scozzy tore Megabyte's left wrist off with its teeth and send sparkling lights and digits into the air.

"It's another alias! It's not really him!" Enzo gasped.

Behind him the binomes sighed relief, glad that they were not about to face the real one. They knew just how cruel Megabyte was with failure and even more so with traitors. Frisket finished the alias off by tear its head off with his teeth. The body vanished a blast of sparkling light and data.

"All right, Frisket!" Enzo laughed as his dog turned around and barked happily at him. "And Scuzzy."

He added that quickly because it looked like Scuzzy was a little annoyed at being ignored.

"Not to sound to ungrateful but what are you doing here?" Enzo asked as the familiar floated up to him.

Scuzzy tipped its head forward and green glass orb on his head showed the face of his mistress,

"Hex? She asked you to help me? But why…Wait a nano…It was Harmony!" Enzo gasped.

Of course! It was so obvious! Harmony has a connection to Hexadecimal so it would easy for her to contact Scuzzy and get it to obey her.

"Thanks a lot for the help, Scuzzy." Enzo said gratefully.

The familiar simply nodded its head and floated down next to Frisket who let out a small growl. Scuzzy retaliated with a growl of its own.

"Okay, break it up you two." Enzo said before they turned on each other. "We got to work together if we're going to stop Megabyte."

"So what do we do now, Enzo?" One of the binomes resembling a zero stepped forward.

"With the alias gone Dot's the only one left in the War Room who's running the city. Stop her and we can take back the Principal Office."

"But how do we stop her?" Another binome, a one asked.

"Leave that to me." Enzo said with determination in his voice. "But I need help. I know it's scary but I need you guys to help if we want to save our room. You with me?"

The binomes looked at each for a nano and then back at Enzo.

"We're with you!" They cried out.

"Let's go!"

They marched towards the door to the War Room and it opened up. Inside the War Room was just the same as Enzo remembered with cables connected from the consoles to binomes, turning them into nothing but mindless drones while the walls were Megabyte's signature blue color. Enzo was honestly starting to hate the color blue just because of how it was associated with the one virus he hated more than anyone.

"Hello, little brother."

Dot turned around and faced him, wearing the same kind of sick grin Megabyte wore when he was gloating. That grin didn't look right on her face at all. Her eyes, those purple warms eyes had been replaced by harsh green irises and red pupils, mirroring the cruelty they had all seen in Megabyte's eyes.

"I see you had some help." Dot remarked, looking at Frisket and Scuzzy. "And there is the matter of your strange powers."

"And now I'm curing you, sis." Enzo stepped forward.

"I don't think so." Dot snapped her fingers.

"ENZO LOOK OUT!"

Before Enzo could move he was lifted out off the floor by a cold metallic hand lifting up the back of his shirt. The attacker was none other than his own father, Welman Matrix.

"I'm sorry, Enzo. My body won't respond." Welman cried.

"And he has no icon for you to disinfect." Dot stated with her grin widening. "What made your powers react was obviously the presence of Megabyte's infection. Fortunately our father has no icon to disinfect and his robot body obviously has not reacted to your powers."

She let a laugh that was cruel, almost as cruel as Megabyte's own laughter.

"I won't delete you, at least not yet. I still need to figure out how you managed to disinfect my guards."

The binomes that Enzo had disinfected aimed their staff but Welman's other arm pointed a rocket launcher attached to it at them, making them drop their weapons and raise their hands.

"Now then little brother, why do you think that you have these powers?" Dot strolled forward and stopped in front of Enzo, just out of his reach. "Come now, you must have some idea?"

Enzo kept silent.

"The red light…Hexadecimal. It was her wasn't it? She infected your icon and restored our father's personality and disinfected the guards." Dot realized. "So she gave you a few more powers. That's something we should have foreseen but no matter. It's over now."

"Yes it is…Frisket, attack!" Enzo shouted.

His dog leapt forward and did the most unexpected thing: he bit Dot's right hand!

"AH!" Dot cried out in pain.

She tried to pull Frisket's mouth of her hand with her free hand.

"Let go of me you spamming hound!" Dot shouted angrily.

"Is that what he is to you? You love that dog! You've loved him since the second we came out of the pet store with him. You fell for him the nano you saw him!" Enzo shouted. "I wanted a dog and after seconds of pestering Dad you finally took me out to get one! He was just a puppy when we found him but we love him the nano I picked him up and showed him to you! AND YOU WANT TO HURT HIM?!"

"Ye….Yes! I'll delete him right now!" Dot shouted.

"That's not you, Dot! That's the infection talking! You'd never do any of this! You'd never lift a finger to hurt Frisket!" Enzo roared. "This is not you, sis, it's the infection! Megabyte's making you do this! He hurt you, he turned you against Bob, and now he's making you destroy YOUR OWN HOME!"

"N…no…" Dot gasped as she felt to her knees. "It's not….it's not…B..Bob…"

"That's right, Dot. Bob and the others out there fighting to save us all. We can help them take back our home but you've got to fight the infection!" Enzo held out his hand.

Dot grunted as she tried to get up and reached out with her left hand. Inside Dot's mind there was a battle raging as Dot struggled against the infection that was struggling to control her. It felt like she was in a data storm and was about to be torn apart from the inside but she pressed forward. She let out a scream as she reached out to Enzo, her little brother's hand.

The nanosecond their fingers made contact Enzo's icon flashed red and traveled through Enzo's finger and into Dot. She let out a scream as she fell over and Frisket released her hand. The red light burned at the blue jumpsuit she was wearing, changing it back to her normal black command outfit. Her icon changed from green and black back to white and black and her eyes…

They were back to their warm purple color with their normal irises and pupils. She let out a scream as the viral infection controlling her was destroyed. The War Room was quiet after that, with the drones not moving from their posts and Welman's body still like a statue while holding Enzo by the back of his shirt. The binomes who had been with Enzo stared on with silent suspense along with Frisket and Scuzzy as Dot looked up,

"Enzo?"

"Dot!" Enzo cried out, tears falling from his eyes.

"Enzo! Put him down!" Dot shouted as she stood up.

Welmen obeyed and released his son allowing sister and brother to hug each other tightly.

"I'm so, so, so sorry! I never wanted to hurt anyone!" Dot whimpered as she started crying.

"I know, sis, I know." Enzo buried his face in her shoulder. "I know."

He just tenderly held his sister as she cried her eyes out.

"Dot, we made it. We brought you back and now we can take Mainframe back from Megabyte." Enzo said consolingly.

"Yeah….Megabyte." Dot whispered the name with hatred laced in her voice. "Where is he?"

Enzo looked at all the zombified binomes in the War Room that never bothered to move during the commotion.

"I think I know how to find out."

Xxx

Megabyte stared down the girl who had appeared to save Duncan and Matrix from out of nowhere and referred to her as 'Uncle'. She stared at him with an emotionless expression but he could see anger and hate burning in her eyes and there was indeed something familiar about her. When Gigabyte split apart into his children, Megabyte and Hexadecimal were complete opposites. He was meant to control everything and bring order to the Net.

Hexadecimal was chaos incarnate, a complete and utter raving lunatic and there was no way Megabyte would ever seek any kind of company with her. He knew of her the instant they were born and knew what she represented. It wasn't any ability that they shared it was more a form of a connection, reminding them both that they were once one. That feeling he felt then, it had resurfaced as he stared at the little girl.

It wasn't as strong as before but he felt the familiar connection as he narrowed his eyes. This was a virus and not just any virus. It was the alternate strain of a familiar virus just as he was an alternate strain of the virus that had come to Mainframe.

"Hexadecimal." Megabyte narrowed his eyes.

"No, I am Harmony." The girl said calmly.

"Harmony?" Megabyte threw his head back and laughed. "A spawn of my dear scatter brained lunatic sister referring to herself with such a name? I have not been this amused since my first…deletion."

"And I recall how much Mother wished to torture you when she was free of your torture device. How she would rip that metal skin off your bones until there was nothing left to hide what was on the inside." Harmony spoke, her eyes narrowing.

Megabyte smirked. "Yes, it does sound like something my dear sister would have done. But…how is it possible that a virus from her strain stands before me? I know of how she was deleted, scattering herself across the Net and yet you stand."

"That is not something you need to bother about. What you should know is what will happen next." Harmony said as a small smile formed.

"Oh? And what's that?" Megabyte raised an eyebrow.

"What you should be worried about is how I'm going to delete you in the next few nanos. Would you prefer painless and or torture that will feel like hours of pain?!" Harmony's eyes flashed.

Megabyte watched as an aura of bright red and green energy exploded from Harmony's body. Her hair was waving behind her like tendrils while her eyes turned completely red, the same kind of red eyes Hexadecimal had when she was smiling evilly.

"I am the unity of Chaos and Order! I am my Mother's Legacy! And I am…YOUR DESTRUCTION!"

Harmony thrust her arms out and fired a pillar of red light at Megabyte. The Trojan Horse Virus covered his face with both hands as he braced himself. The blast slammed into him and he growled as he tried to keep himself being incinerated by the attack. He vanished a blast of red energy that shot up into the sky in the form of an explosion.

Xxx

Everyone in the city stopped and looked at the explosion as smoke reached up into the sky.

"What's that?"

Bridgette and Ray stopped in mid-air, standing on their boards as the explosion ended.

"I don't know. But it don't like Floating Point is safe anymore." Ray replied. "There goes the plan."

"Glitch, scan." Bob looked down at his keytool's main screen. "There's…another virus!"

"Oh great." Gwen groaned. "That's the last thing we need. What about Courtney and the others?"

"I can't tell. There's too much interference for Glitch to get an accurate scan but there's something about the energy explosion. There's something…familiar."

"What the hell is that?!" Heather spun around and looked at the cloud of smoke rising from Floating Point. "Just once I'd like a mission where something doesn't blow up!"

"Join the club." Noah drawled.

"Ooooooooooooohhhhhhhhhh!" Izzy remarked.

In the center of the explosion Duncan and Matrix had taken cover behind a dumpster that had managed to survive the explosion. They peeked out when they were sure it was over and gaped at the street that had been devastated by the attack. A few nearby buildings had been scorched with flames scattered all over the sector. Harmony stood at the very end of the scorched street, watching for any sign that her enemy had survived.

"No way…she blew the whole street apart." Duncan's jaw nearly dropped.

Not even Aelita's Plasma Beam was that powerful. What the hell did he and Matrix find themselves in the middle of?

Harmony was watching carefully for any sign that Megabyte had survived her attack. She of all people knew that he was able to endure a lot more than this. Her suspicions were proven correct as metal cables blasted out of the ground and wrapped themselves around her tight. Grunting as she tried to break free she looked up and watched as Megabyte kicked a large piece of debris off him and stood up, looking barely injured at all!

"Well, well, well, it seems you've inherited more than just my sister's own powers." Megabyte remarked as more cables emerged from his hands.

Harmony grunted as she tried to break free of the cable.

"Were it not for my own upgrades I probably would have been deleted." Megabyte admitted as he slowly moved towards her. "And it seems luck is on my side. I may the perfect source for what XANA wants."

Duncan's eyebrows went up when he heard that. Megabyte wants to use this girl for something that XANA wants? What could this girl have that XANA would need?

"I don't know what you are talking about but I will not LET YOU CAPTURE ME!" Harmony roared.

Another aura of energy surrounded her and with a roar she broke free of the cables holding her. Megabyte narrowed his eyes. This might be a little difficult, even with his new powers he would have still had a hard time with Hexadecimal before.

"Now, suffer!"

With a wave of her hand Harmony telekinetically lifted several large pieces of debris from the ground and thrust them forward. Megabyte leapt forward and smashed his way through the debris with just a single punch. He landed on the ground and cracks formed around his feet as he landed before taking off again, charging straight at Harmony. She growled and prepared another energy blast as Megabyte prepared to slash her with his claws.

"You're not so bright if you can't remember why Mother was better!" Harmony shouted as she fired the energy blast.

However Megabyte simply released another cable into the energy blast and grinned as the energy was absorbed into cable. Harmony's eyes widened as Megabyte chuckled.

'Oh great, he can absorb energy attacks too?' Duncan mentally groaned. 'Is there anything XANA _didn't_ give him?'

"Oh my, were you expecting something else?" Megabyte retracted his cable. "I was surprised myself but my colleague saw fit to prepare in case I ended up facing an opponent that was as powerful as my dear sister."

Harmony growled, angry of how Megabyte casually disrespected her mother. "You'd better watch your mouth, _Uncle_."

Megabyte however simply chuckled at her warning. "Oh dear, have I upset my dear 'niece'?"

"You never did learn your lesson about what happens when you make Mother angry." Harmony said darkly.

With that said she flew at high speed towards Megabyte with her fists ready to pound him into the dirt. Megabyte braced himself as she slammed into him and they skidded down the street, tearing through the road while sending a trail of dust into the air.

Xxx

Dot and Enzo finally broke apart from their hug as they stood up and looked around the War Room, seeing the zombified binomes and Welmen standing like statues.

"Why don't they attack?" Enzo asked.

"Because Megabyte made them completely mindless and told them to follow my commands." Dot said, a dark look growing on her face. "Enzo, can you cure them like you did me?"

"On it!" Enzo nodded with a smile.

Dot stood in front of the main console where she could see everything. It was her place as the commander of Mainframe to watch and see everything, to make sure the people were kept safe, and it was something she had failed to accomplish. Megabyte tricked her again, infected her, and turned her into a mindless puppet. Feelings of fury and anguish rose up inside Dot as she gripped the railings tight enough they actually started to bend.

She had thought Megabyte had gone too far before but what he did…

It was unspeakably evil and cruel, not only to her but to her friends and family.

"Megabyte, you thought you'd won but war's just starting." Dot whispered.

Her first order of business was to shut down the Principal Office's Main Defense System so they would stop firing on the rebels. As the guns shut down people outside quickly noticed.

"The guns…they stopped." Bob pointed at the Principal Office.

"Is that a good thing?" Gwen asked.

"I don't know." Bob shook his head.

"I am beginning to get a bad feeling about this." Ray muttered.

However what happened next shocked nearly everyone as Vid-Windows appeared around the Principal Office and Dot herself, free of the viral infection stood in the center of the War Room with a look of determination and righteous fury.

"Dot!" Bob gasped.

When Matrix looked up he almost froze in shock but was replaced by a smile. "Sis…"

Mouse and AndrAIa were still in the tower with Courtney when they saw Dot appear in the windows.

"Dot…" AndrAIa whispered.

"She's cured!" Mouse remarked with a joyful smile.

"Who is that?" Courtney asked.

"The one who's going to save us all." Mouse replied.

"Attention, citizens of Mainframe, this is the Commander of the system, Dot Matrix. Not too long ago I was infected and turned into a drone by Megabyte as he tried to bully this system into surrender. I know that while I was under his control I did horrible and unspeakable things that might have shaken your fate in me forever. But I ask you, the people of Mainframe to stand up because Megabyte won't rest until this system and all of its people are gone." Dot proclaimed. "He wants you to feel afraid and maybe we should be but…I will not let him get away with it anymore! Look to your friends, you family, and ask yourself do you want Megabyte to take it away or do you want to do everything in your power to make sure he can never hurt anyone ever again? Stand up and let us show him that we Mainframers stick together no matter what!"

With that said the Vid-Windows closed leaving everyone to consider to her words.

"So that's Dot, huh? Looks like she's quite the motivator." Gwen remarked.

"It's more than that…" Bob smiled. "She's the person who always brings hope to the city and that's very valuable weapon against Megabyte. He'll have a harder time keeping the people in line after what Dot just said and if she's in control of the Principal Office, we have our city back."

Bob didn't just how right he was. As Dot made her speech to the entire city citizens who had previously been afraid stepped out of the homes and looked up at the image of their commander. When her speech something inside of them snapped and they knew what it was. They realized that they were sick and tired of living in fear from viruses like Megabyte and Daemon. They have had to live through seeing their home nearly torn apart and destroyed almost endlessly and they were sick and tired of it!

They had not gone through the Web and Virals Wars and then the conflict with Daemon just to have their home destroyed by Megabyte, _again_!

Xxx

Megabyte and Harmony had stopped their fight when Dot's face had appeared on the large Vid-Windows that had appeared around the Principal Office. Megabyte's eyes had widened when he saw Dot was free of his control and when the memories of his duplicated were transferred into his mind his eyes narrowed in rage. Somehow that young brat that was the copy of Dot's annoying brother had managed fight his infection! It should have been impossible as his infection had been enhanced by the Web itself along with XANA!

There was no way Enzo should have been able to free his sister and his slaves from his infection yet it had happened.

Harmony's chuckling made him turn back to face her with realization and anger. "YOU! You have something to do with this!"

"Oh no, this was not my doing, Uncle Byte. Mother's work has been to ensure that those who meant the entire Net to her continue to live." Harmony replied with a big smile.

"And just what did my dear sister do?" Megabyte growled softly.

"She left dear Enzo a gift that would ensure a happy life and make sure he never became like that renegade who is supposedly the original." Harmony replied, scoffing at the thought of Matrix.

"That infection she gave the boy's icon before she scattered across the Net." Megabyte exclaimed, remembering that part that Enzo had told him about when he was still disguised as Bob. "I thought it was gone when it restored Nibbles!"

"The infection bonded with Enzo in a way that no one had seen before. Just because the infection in his Icon was gone doesn't mean Mother didn't leave him in any other gifts." Harmony said, smiling at the infuriated expression on Megabyte's face. "Perhaps he will be the one to do what Bob could not and end the war against viruses."

"End it? Well, it seems you inherited a bit of your Mother's insanity after all. The conflict shall never end, viruses will always seek to carry out their function of destruction and control, just as the users programmed us." Megabyte laughed. "Even if one virus falls another just takes its place. I was sent into the Web and the Net faced Daemon, she failed and I have returned with more power and soon enough the Net will become a new haven for viral order."

"No, that will never happen." Harmony glared hatefully at Megabyte. "Because you are about to be deleted."

"Oh, I don't think so." Megabyte grinned as he heard a familiar sound.

"Matrx!"

AndrAIa, Mouse, and Courtney came out of the Central Tower and saw Matrix and Duncan hiding behind a dumpster.

"AndrAIa, stay back!" Matrx shouted.

Above them came squads of ABCs that were the main force of Megabyte's air fleet.

"Regardless of how powerful you are, little virus, I have an entire army to call upon. Regardless of my setback with the commander of this system it is still mine for my forces outnumber you." Megabyte grinned. "Even if you can take on all of them how much damage to the city will be done before your victoy?"

"Guys!"

Duncan looked up as Gwen, Bob, Bridgette, Ray and Aelita landed next to him and Matrix. Megabyte looked up and his digital heart almost stopped when he saw Aelita. She looked like a female version of XANA but with rose colored hair, green eyes that were gentle as opposed to XANA's harsh red eyes, tan colored skin while XANA's skin was as pale as Hexadecimal's face, and bright pink colored clothing instead of XANA's dark clothing. They could almost be twins yet completely the opposite.

'She must be related to XANA on some level. There is no coincidence that they would look so similar. If she resembles him there is a chance she could have similar powers, powers that would be a match for XANA if they are enemies.' Megabyte thought.

Even though he would never consider anyone superior to him Megabyte recognized great power and he sensed it the nano he met XANA. The being was no virus yet he was just as insidious as one with powers he had never seen before. On his own Megabyte knew he wouldn't stand a chance even if he would never admit it.

'If she has similar powers there might still be a way to turn this around. If I infect her I could gain a powerful drone to fend off these pests and at the same time gain a valuable weapon to use against XANA.' Megabyte grinned.

"Are you all right?" Gwen asked.

"Yeah, just sitting back and watching the fight." Duncan said.

"Who's she?" Bob looked at Harmony.

"She says she's Hexadecimal's daughter." Matrix answered.

Bob's eyes along with the eyes of anyone else who heard Matrix widened as they looked at the girl. She looked like a fusion of Daemon and Hexadecimal!cIzzy and Trent ran down the street along with the rebels while the virals hovered above them.

"Face it, 'niece' you can't stop me." Megabyte chuckled. "Lieutenant!"

Chauncy stuck his out of the top hatch of the lead ABC. "Yes sir?"

"Delete them!"

"Yes sir."

The ABCs leveled their guns on anyone who didn't have Megabyte's color or insignia, ready to blast them to bit.

However Harmony simply smiled. "Really?"

She took a single step forward and when the front of her foot touched the ground a burst green energy came up into the air from her foot. For Bob, Matrix, and the Mainframers it was a very uncomfortable reminder of how Daemon infected everyone around her. The infection was quick and painless and left the victim feeling peaceful, making it easy for Daemon to control them. The tendrils of green energy traveled through the ABCs, infecting the already infected binomes inside.

However instead of showing the green lights pulsing along the victim's forehead like Daemon's infection did the virals were instantly cured. Everyone saw Lieutenant Chauncy now looking like a normal binome.

"By the Code!" He gasped.

"What?!" Megabyte's eyes widened and his jaw dropped in horror.

"She cured them!" Bob gasped.

"But how?" AndrAIa and Mouse stared with silent shock.

"That color, that's Daemon's infection!" Matrix realized.

"I get the feeling we should gaping in awe at her like everyone else." Izzy commented.

"Let's just pretend we understand what we saw." Duncan shrugged.

"Just like how Mother cured the Net of Daemon I can cure anyone of a viral infection by simply using my own infection. When Mother took the Guardian code from that renegade she then spread herself across the Net, curing everyone of Daemon's infection. That code is still in my and thus I along with anyone I infect can become an instant viral cure." Harmony explained with mischievous smile. "It's how Enzo was able to cure Dot. We have bonded through Mother's code and I sent him the cure through that bond."

"Impossible!" Megabyte stepped back with an infuriated look. "This is impossible!"

"A virus curing a viral infection…" Bob whispered as he stared Harmony.

It was like a dream had come true. He had spent his life theorizing about benign viruses and now right in front of him was probably first living benign virus! He could hardly believe that it was possible since he had almost given up on his theories.

"As you can see, Uncle Byte I have my mother's powers, the code of the Guardians, the infection of Daemon, and the bonds my mother forged before she sacrificed herself. I am Harmony, the union of Chaos and Order." Harmony proclaimed, floating up into the air with her arms crossed. "And I am the Harbinger of Destruction to my enemies."

An aura of bright red and green energy surrounded her as she stared down at Megabyte who was now feeling fearful with her blue eyes changing red. He had just begun to realize the situation he was now in. His army was almost gone, the Mainframers and the Lyoko Warriors had all teamed up and outnumbered him, a virus who was claiming to be Hexadecimal's daughter had somehow managed to cure his infection, and now he was left all alone as everyone in the city had come to take their ten pounds of code.

"This is for the pain you have caused to everyone who have suffered because of you." Harmony said as she prepared to release her full wrath on Megabyte.

"Excuse me; is this a private party or can anyone join?"

Everyone looked up when they heard the voice of a teenage girl and spotted a red haired teenage sprite sitting on the edge of a warehouse overlooking them. To the Mainframers she looked harmless but to anyone else they recognized her instantly.

"Lilith." Aelita frowned.

"Well, it looks you're having some trouble here, Byte." Lilith said, looking down at Megabyte. "Almost all your forces are gone, leaving you alone."

Megabyte gritted his teeth.

"Luckily, Master XANA always helps his allies out." Lilith showed off her trademark mischievous smirk. "So it's no trouble."

"Who are you? What do you want?" Bob asked.

"Bob, everyone, be careful! That is XANA's head general!" Aelita called out.

When they heard her some could not help but wonder how a teenage sprite could be as dangerous as Aelita made it sound.

"Hey, Aelita! You guys sure are persistent, huh?" Lilith looked at the Lyoko Warriors. "Coming all the way here in that digital sub, making it through the Web, and helping to turn the tide here. These guys sure lucky you came."

"Enough games here, Lilith. Why are you here and what is XANA doing? What does he want with the Net?" Aelita demanded.

"Classified." Lilith shrugged. "Can't help you."

"Of course." Gwen rolled her eyes.

"What is going on here? Why are you here?" Bob asked.

"Just to watch the fight…and to invite a few friends." Lilith's grin widened.

That was when everyone heard a pulsing sound coming from the sky above them. Looking up they watched as a pulse of red energy travelled through the sky.

"What's going on?" Matrix asked.

"Glitch, scan!" Bob looked down at his keytool. "The system, we're back online!"

"Cody, do have you any idea what's going on here?" Aelita asked.

"_From what I see the system's fire wall has shut down and the Internet connection has been reestablished. From the it's acting I'd say it's a remote signal from XANA._" Cody replied.

"I know, I can sense." Aelita frowned. "They're just like pulsations."

Waves of red energy traveled through the dark sky with the pulsing sounds of a heartbeat growing louder.

"What's happening?" AndrAIa glanced at Courtney.

"I have no clue. I've never seen this before." Courtney looked up at the sky. "But I got a good idea of what might happen."

"_Guys, there's an energy build up. It's coming from all over the place!_" Cody exclaimed.

"There's something forming. It looks like…Tears!" Bob looked up just as Tears appeared around the Floating Point Sector.

Xxx

"Dot, what's going on?" Enzo asked.

He and his sister were watching from the War Room as Tears started appearing all over Floating Point where all the fighting was at. There was a total number of twenty tears appearing in and outside of the sector.

"I don't know. Tears are appearing but the system is not unstable enough for Tears to be forming." Dot replied as she looked over the consoles. "We need to get help over there."

That was when Noah and Heather phased through the door.

"Hands up!" Heather shouted, ready to fight.

Dot and Enzo spun around to face them. Frisket and Scuzzy growled, ready to pounce on these new intruders.

"All right, we're taking control of this place so anyone viral here might want to think twice about trying to stop us." Heather stated.

"You're not viral?" Enzo asked.

"Do we look viral?" Noah asked. "Hey, wait a second. You're that kid brother that Matrix has. What are you doing here?"

Frisket and Scuzzy looked ready to pounce but Dot realized that these sprites were the new arrivals that Megabyte had tried to capture.

"You're the new sprites who came here through the Web aren't you?" Dot asked.

"Yeah, we came here through the Web. Bob sent us to try and take control of the Principal Office. Who are you?" Heather asked.

"Dot Matrix, Commander of the System." Dot stepped forward. "I watched the others fighting from here. You've got more powers than any other sprite I've seen."

"Yeah." Noah lowered his cannons. "Bob said you were infected but you don't have any of the colors that we've seen on any of Megabyte's stooges."

"I was cured." Dot smiled at Enzo. "And now I'm ready to take my system back."

"Cool." Noah turned his cannons back into hands. "We infiltrate the Principal Office and the rest of the job is done for us. Best Mission ever."

"So who are you?" Enzo asked, looking over the new sprites.

"I'm Heather and the pipsqueak is Noah." Heather patted Noah on the head. "We came here because your virus, Megabyte has teamed up with our enemy."

"What?" Enzo gasped.

"I thought as much. Megabyte always had me and everyone else leave the room for some reason but he was always at the comm." Dot frowned. "Even when I was infected I suspected he might have had an ally or something."

"Yeah and our enemy gave him some nice new powers." Noah remarked as he stepped forward.

That was when the alarm sounded, making everyone turn to the main screen.

"Sis, what's happening?" Enzo asked.

"The tears. They're stabilizing." Dot paled. "And I'm detecting…viruses!"

The tears instantly stabilized into portals and out stepped figures that large, intimidating, and looked very dangerous.

"XANA." Noah mumbled. "He's inviting a few friends to the party."

"We need to do something." Dot said, typing away at the controls. "We need to get into contact with the rebels and tell them what's going on."

"On it. Cody, you hear me?" Noah asked, earning confused stares from the Matrix siblings.

"_Loud and clear, Noah. The others already know what's going on. The firewall XANA put up has shut down and the connection to the Internet is back. XANA's already sending something through the connection and it's coming from several addresses._"

"Systems he's already conquered with upgraded viruses and now he's redirecting them here to take us out." Noah mumbled.

"Just perfect." Heather groaned.

"Uh…who are you talking to?" Enzo asked, gaining their attention.

"Oh, we have someone who can communicate with us without a window like you guys but only we can hear him." Noah replied calmly. "It's okay if you think we're crazy. Everyone else does."

Dot and Enzo shared a glance but didn't say anything.

"The point is that we have more viruses on the way and the fighting's about to get worse. So come on, Noah, we have to do." Heather grabbed Noah by the back of his coat.

"Can't I just stay here and monitor the situation?" Noah groaned.

"Come on, lazy boy!" Heather dragged him to the doors. "The faster we deal with this, the faster we can go home!"

"Tell Bob I'll be sending help as soon as I can!" Dot called out.

The doors closed leaving the Matrix siblings to look back at the screen as viruses marched towards Floating Point.

"We'll make it, right sis?" Enzo looked to his sister.

Dot just smiled. "We always make it, little brother. And this time we're taking back our home once and for all."

Xxx

"Viruses…I'm picking up viruses appearing all over the sector!" Bob called out, seeing them appear on Glitch's screen.

Just after he said that a tear appeared next to Megabyte and out stepped a virus that resembled a giant yeti. It towered over Megabyte with huge muscles, white fur, sharp teeth, and red eyes that morphed into the Eye of XANA.

"Greetings, denizens of the Net and my esteemed adversaries. I hope I am not interrupting anything." The virus spoke, his voice resembling a certain enemy the Lyoko Warriors knew all too well.

"XANA." Aelita glared.

"Well, Megabyte, it seems the outcome of this battle is not to your liking. You've managed to lose control of the system and your army, to the enemy in your so called hunt." The virus remarked, glancing at Megabyte. "I thought the hunter was always in control."

Megabyte only narrowed his eyes at the implied insult. "Why are you here? I thought you would stay out of this."

"My apologies for the inconvenience, Megabyte but deals change. The threat level the warriors provide with the Mainframers is still in acceptable range but I find it easier to deal with the problem now rather than later." The virus grinned as he looked at the Mainframers. "I bring you greetings from the world outside of the one you know, denizens of Mainframe. I am the program designated as XANA, speaking through this virus to convey my command. You may have heard of me from the young warriors who stand with you and my involvement in Megabyte's capture of your city. Did I mention that your city is now under new management?"

"In your dreams." Matrix growled as his mechanical eye glowed red.

"How can you talk through a virus like that? I've never encountered an infection like that before." Bob asked as everyone remained wary around the virus.

"There are many things beyond this realm that you have yet to encounter, Guardian 452. There is a realm beyond the Net, more complex, more powerful, and greater than this miniscule existence." The virus chuckled as he looked at the Warriors. "Something your new allies have neglected to mention, it seems."

The Warrior frowned as they realized just what kind of game XANA was playing. He was trying to play on everyone's doubts and suspicions, to try and turn them against each other.

"Why don't come out and face us yourself, XANA? Rather than hide and let these losers do all the work?" Duncan growled.

"An intriguing proposal, Duncan, and one I would consider if I was able to. No matter though as this system and its inhabitants will gone before the cycle is done." The virus smirked.

"No! This is my hunt!" Megabyte growled.

"The hunt is over and you have lost, Megabyte. If you want to see the satisfaction of their processors fading you'll remember not to get in my way." XANA leveled the Yeti virus's eyes on Megabyte with a stern glare. "Or would you like to join the system in deletion?"

Megabyte growled but stood down.

"I don't know who you are what you want but I will not allow this system to fall. My Mother sacrificed herself to make sure this city endured and I will continue her work." Harmony proclaimed.

The Mainframers agreed with her and prepared to fight.

"Then by all means, fight into the dark. I prefer my opponents to continue fighting to the end anyways." XANA laughed.

That was when roars and screams echoed throughout the city. They all turned to face the direction of the roars and watched as monstrous viruses marched towards them. They were almost twenty of them, each one looking very dangerous, even for the fighters who have gone up against monsters almost daily in their battles.

"This is bad." Bob said.

"Very bad." Aelita and Matrix said at the same time.

"All right, more bad guys!" Izzy cheered as she pointed her crossbows at the approaching monsters.

"No. There will be no battle." Harmony stepped forward.

As her right foot touched the ground she released another blast of green energy that traveled through the air towards the viruses and engulfed them. They remained still as the energy overtook them and the infection attempted to make them feel peaceful, eliminating the aggressive and hatred feelings that they had come to naturally feel. However the infection failed as the Eye of XANA appeared in the eyes of each virus and a red aura surrounded them, repelling the infection.

Harmony gasped when she saw her attempt to infect them had failed. "What?! They repelled my infection!"

"A little extra protection, my dear." XANA chuckled. "You will find that everyone under my employ is well protected, even against viruses."

"But Daemon's infection was the most powerful in the Net! Only my Mother had been able to delete it." Harmony turned to the Yeti virus. "What are you? Are you a virus?"

"No, I am beyond viruses and anything the so called Net have ever seen before and I bring with me a great change that will either create a new world and destroy everything you've ever known." The Yeti grinned.

"What do you want?" Bob asked.

"What do I want? That's a very interesting question, Guardian. Tell me, have you ever wondered about the so called User? The omnipotent figure known throughout the Net as the creator, the one who creates systems and their people, and the one who downloads games for reasons you cannot understand." XANA asked. "Have you wondered if there was a way to know everything? If there was a way to make the Net a better place without the fear of games? If there was a way to restore those were nullified by the games?"

"What are you talking about?" Matrix growled.

"I come not to destroy the Net but to remake it, push beyond its current stage and bring it into complete perfection." XANA continued. "A World Without Danger as I was created to make and these…"

He gestured to the Lyoko Warriors.

"Fools seek to continue the cycle of destruction. You ever wonder where they come from? What their origin is? What secrets they may be hiding?" XANA asked. "You haven't had time to ask where they come from, haven't you?"

"And you're any better?" Ray asked. "Just what are you getting at?"

"I can call of this invasion right now. All you would have to do is surrender those sprites." He glanced at Aelita and the Lyoko Warriors again."Hand them over and I shall order every virus, including Megabyte to leave and they shall never take another step here again."

Megabyte narrowed his eyes but realized that XANA was trying to force them to decide sacrificing their allies or facing an entire war.

'The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.' Megabyte thought amusingly.

XANA truly was a cruel being.

"I don't know what you are but let me tell you something. Here in Mainframe we stick together and when it comes to viruses and monsters…The answer is no!" Bob said, earning cheers from his friends and allies. "We're taking back this city and we're making sure you guys never endanger its people again!"


	23. Chapter 23

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything belonging to Code: Lyoko, Total Drama, or Reboot. Code Lyoko is Property of Moonscoop, Reboot is the property of Mainframe Entertainment and Total Drama is the property of Fresh TV.**

Xxx

Chapter 21

"And this system you found, Lyoko you called it, is where this XANA came from?" Turbo asked.

Tom had spent the last ten nanos explaining what had happened to him to the Guardian Council and showed them the recordings Dac had had made during his time in Lyoko. Some were skeptical but those like Turbo knew Tom was anything but random.

"Yes, Turbo. The sprites have more powers than any other sprite I have encountered in the Net. From what I have read Lyoko is also a supercomputer but its processing power is much greater than ours and can actually integrate its sprites into its functions allowing them to possess higher functions than any normal sprite. It's like what a Guardian would be if its keytool was merged with it." Tom explained.

"And this XANA, what can you tell us about him?" Turbo asked.

"Well to be honest I'm not sure how to describe him. According to Aelita, the System Manager for Lyoko XANA is what she called a Multi-Agent Program. She said that a Multi-Agent System is a program capable of multiplying and dividing itself into other forms of different functions that can handle the work that would require dozens." Tom answered.

"That's impossible. A program with such a function cannot exist! Its code would have to be more complex than anything in the entire Net." A female Guardian spoke up. "How could something like that be created?"

"Aelita surmises it was Lyoko's User who did. The logs state XANA was meant to manage Lyoko and protect it from outer threats but he rebelled for some reason. I know it sounds random but I have seen his forces and his skills first hand and I know he represents a danger to the Net on a level that might be beyond even Daemon." Tom continued. "Not only has he upgraded Megabyte but he's infected other viruses and from what Aelita and the others have learned he's planning to create an army of upgraded viruses to infect the entire Net and create an army to take over Lyoko."

Turbo sighed. "Tom, from what you have told me it makes sense since several systems have gone silent like you said. All attempts to contact or break through them have failed and since we never let anyone outside of this room know what is happening I have to believe you. The question now is what do we do? How do stop this XANA?"

"To be honest, Turbo, I don't know. I brought Aelita and these Lyoko Warriors to Mainframe since it was first system to go down. They say that if we want XANA stopped we need a way to remove every ounce of influence he has in the Net and then cut off the opening Megabyte made for him to keep him from ever trying to take over the Net again. I guess it would mean destroying every virus under his command but a Multi-Agent System is capable of creating and using more than one form of function so even if we remove the viruses there is a chance that XANA will still have access to the Net." Tom reluctantly said. "All I can say at this point is that we should prepare."

"Prepare for what?" The same female Guardian from before asked.

"War."

Xxx

"So you reject the offer I have made?" The Yeti virus spoke, continuing to act as the Mouth of XANA.

"Mainframe has endured more than any other system in the Net and we have not come so far just to be enslaved or destroyed by another monster. As Guardian of this system I hereby order you and Megabyte to leave and never return." Bob declared, earning cheers from his comrades.

"Such foolish and pathetic pride." XANA shook his head. "You reject liberation and favor destruction. It seems you have more common with them after all. You both choose death and destruction over survival."

"No. We choose life and freedom." Bob said as he and all the Mainframers prepared to fight.

"Such a pity. There's only thing left to do." XANA sighed, almost sounding regretful.

That was when every virus in the city heard XANA whispering into their minds.

_Erase them_

Those two simple words sent every virus into a bloodthirsty frenzy as they let out loud roars and charged forward.

"They are yours, Megabyte. Try not to leave such a mess." XANA said as the Eye faded and the Yeti virus charged forward into battle.

"Oh trust me. I always clean up." Megabyte flexed his claws as his lips curled up into a sinister grin.

With a loud roar he jumped forward, aiming to delete all of his enemies once and for all.

"All right! STREET BRAWL!" Izzy shouted with glee.

She transformed into a rhino and charged forward towards the approaching viral group. As Izzy neared the approaching army Gwen looked up and noticed something.

"IZZY GET BACK!"

"Huh?" Izzy changed back into her human form.

That was when a hissing sound was heard as a dark figure leapt off the roof of a building Izzy was standing next to and fell towards her.

"Wha?!" Izzy looked up.

Gwen's white aura flared around her as she thrust her hand forward and white energy strings shot out of her fingers and wrapped around Izzy's body.

"WHA?!" Izzy yelped as she pulled out of the way as a giant body slammed into the street where she had stood before.

When the smoke cleared, standing in a small crater was a virus in the form of a large human with wild black spiky hair, blank white eyes and dark grey skin; he wore no shirt or armor, just black pants and carried a large axe in his right hand.

"Try to stop rushing in without thinking, Izzy. This isn't Lyoko anymore." Gwen remarked as the energy strings around Izzy's body vanished. "We can die here if we lost too many life points and we're up against an army of viruses that have been enhanced with XANA upgrades. You can't make just jump in and punch the face of the first bad guy you see."

"Okay, okay!" Izzy stood up. "I'll keep an eye out."

"This is so not good." Noah said as the viruses slowly approached them. "We're outnumbered here and with those upgrades even one of them could be a big problem."

"Well, Bob, it seems this is how it ends. It wasn't the ending I was hoping for but I will settle for the pleasure of seeing you vanish." Megabyte laughed.

"Try not to get caught up in the hunt again, Byte." Lilith said as she vanished through a portal she created.

"Oh trust me, I won't." Megabyte raised his hand, signaling the viruses to attack. "Destroy them al…AH!"

Everyone watched as a baseball flew through the air and slapped into Megabyte's head, disorientating him for a second.

"Hey look!" Heather pointed to the right.

Everyone turned and looked down the streets to see what looked to be an army of Mainframe citizens marching towards them and they were all lead by…

"Dot?" Bob and Matrix gasped.

"Enzo." Harmony smiled.

Dot Matrix and her little brother were leading an army of citizens that had all come out of hiding, sick of living in fear from the constant danger their home had suffered for so long. Many faces, old and new were seen amongst the crowd as they marched towards where the battle was about to take place.

"Well, our girl's called in the Calvary." Mouse remarked with a smile.

"And not too soon." Ray replied.

"And I thought I'd seen everything." Noah commented. "Big bad mob lead by angry digital sister on the warpath. How in the all the universe do we never bring a camera for something like this?"

"Megabyte…" Dot spoke up, glaring directly at the blue metallic virus. "I think I speak on behalf of all of Mainframe, it's time for you to leave."

"Yeah! Get out of here!"

"And don't come back!"

"Stinking virus!"

"Go away!"

"Leave us alone!"

"Go back to the Web!"

"Leave now and never come back!"

As one the citizens of Mainframe all screamed and cried out their anger and determination in their voices, directed at the virus who had caused them so much pain. The viruses XANA had sent remained silent while Megabyte looked around, seeing that the numbers were now against him.

"You hear that Megabyte? Mainframe's done with you, now and forever. We're done with you, your attempts to take over the city and the Supercomputer. Ever since the second you arrived you've been a blight on Mainframe and its people." Dot spoke up, silencing everyone. "We've suffered so much and we've endured to this very nano not to see it all destroyed because you want to win the game you lost before. It's time for you to leave either by choice or by force."

The crowd gave their best glares in order to signify just how serious Dot was. Megabyte narrowed his eyes as he looked around before sighing and looking down at the ground. For a mere nanosecond they all thought he was admitting defeat but they heard a sound from him. It started out small but it grew from a mere chuckle into full blown laughter.

"Oh my, this is just wonderful!" Megabyte threw his head back as he let out a loud laugh. "The people of Mainframe, the old Mainframers stick together routine! This is even better than I imagined. I get to see the entire city and its people…Burn."

"In case you forgot your glasses at home you're way outnumbered here." Heather pointed out.

"Numbers mean absolutely nothing here. The only thing that matters here is time." Megabyte grinned. "Gather as many warriors as you can but nothing will stop me from fulfilling my destiny. The destruction of this city has begun."

He held up his wrist computer. "Here's a little something I prepared for just such an occasion."

He tapped the red switch.

Xxx

Alarm sounds started ringing as the Vid-Windows in the War Room turned black with bright red words appearing.

WARNING

WARNING

CORE ENERGY CONTAINMENT SYSTEM DESTABILIZED

ESTIMATED TIME BEFORE IMPLOSION: 5:00

"Oh dear! Oh dear! Oh dear!" Specky said as he looked down at the controls. "The main containment system for holding the energy directed from the core is shutting down!"

This was bad. If the containment system for the power inside the core was unstable it was a matter of time before the energy built up to the point that the core would explode! Mainframe would be completely destroyed in an explosion not like anything that they have seen before, except for the incident that destroyed Mainframe's Twin City.

Xxx

"This is not good." Cody said as the super computer let out a beeping sound.

"What's wrong?" LeShawna asked, leaning over Cody's shoulder.

"The Skid's scanners have detected an energy build up emanating from the Principal Office. We haven't completely linked with Mainframe yet but I think the buildup is coming from the core." Cody tried to boost the scanner's power to get a better look.

"A build up in the core? That sounds bad." DJ commented.

"It is. The core supplies the city power from the energy sea but if something is stopping the core from sending out energy than it could build up to the point…the core would explode." Cody finished, watching their faces went pale from the implication. "The city would be destroyed and there would be no way to save anyone because the hard drive for the computer Mainframe is in would be fried from the overload."

"XANA!" LeShawna snarled. "He's trying to blow them to hell!"

"I don't think it's XANA, Leshawna." Cody shook his head. "There was nothing on the scanners that showed any of XANA's doing."

"Does it matter? The others are in there and it's going to explode!" Geoff exclaimed.

"I know." Cody adjusted the head set. "Aelita! Guys, we have a problem!"

Xxx

"_There's an energy buildup in the core!" _Cody's voice rang through the ears of the Lyoko Warriors.

At the same time Dot's organizer beeped and she answered. "What is it, Specky?"

"Sir, ma'am! The core's energy containment system has been destabilized!" Specky cried.

"What?!" Dot cried out.

Everyone who heard now looked concerned as they realized the implication.

"Core destabilized. That sounds bad." Noah commented, sounding completely calm.

"If the core's containment system has been destabilized than the energy from the energy sea will build up in the core's main power system until…" Bob said with wide eyes and a terrified look. "It explodes and destroys the entire city."

"Yes, a glorious explosion as my dear sister would say." Megabyte chuckled at the horrified looks on the faces of his enemies.

"You realize that if the core explodes you go with us, Megabyte." Bob said, glaring at the virus.

"And you think that matters to me, Bob? As much as I'd love to see the entire Net fall under my control but a death in battle is the best one a virus could wish for. I survived the Web, the worst fate any program could suffer and I came out stronger. To rise out of Hell is a feat very few can accomplish." Megabyte grinned. "You believe I fear that I will perish with you all but I am not afraid to fall in battle. You fear for your precious city, I fear nothing. To fear something like death is to suggest that there would be no point in living if you had such a pathetic fear. Only the weak are so pathetic, it is different for the truly powerful."

Megabyte held both his hands as if he was reaching to grasp something.

"They have the ability to rise, even after death." Megabyte looked back down at them. "This is the true meaning of power, Bob. Something that took even me so long to understand, even when the truth had been right in front of me."

"You think you can rise from death? Let's find out." Matrix pointed his gun, his mechanical eye glowing red.

"Yes, let the final battle commence." Megabyte glanced at the viruses assembled around him. "Finish them off!"

"FOR MAINFRAME!" Matrix shouted, earning cheers from the rebels and the citizens of their home.

With that said both sides charged towards each other, ready to risk their lives for victory. A virus resembling a raptor leapt at Matrix but he shot in it in the forehead and knocked it down before its body vanished in a flash of whit light and pixels. He ducked as a virus resembling a knight swung its broadsword at him and he fired again but the virus blocked the bullet with its sword and marched forward.

"Cody, what can you do to stop the core from exploding?" Aelita asked as she shot energy fields at the incoming viruses.

"_I don't think I can do anything without directly interfacing the Skid's systems into the Principal Office. If we sync their systems with ours I should be able to remotely reactivate the containment field._"

"All right. Cover me while I go get the Skid." Aelita activated her wings and shot up into the air.

"You heard her! Free for all!" Duncan shouted as he swung his sword and unleashed a blast of green fire that took out three viruses trying to attack him.

Gwen spun her scythe as blocked incoming laser shots. Just then strings made of energy shot out and grabbed her scythe.

"Huh?" Gwen used both of her hands to keep her scythe from being pulled out of her grasp.

She activated her fire aura and her scythe was instantly on fire, burning the energy strings in a mere second.

"My, how impressive."

Gwen looked up to see a tall woman walking towards her with pale skin, silky black hair that was straight and well kept, and a long black sleeveless dress that fell to her feet. She almost looked like a normal sprite except there was one major difference on her near flawless face. Instead of one pair of eyes she had two more pairs of eyes on her forehead, all of them red with slits for pupils like a cat.

Her finger nails were long and sharp like claws with black nail polish on them. Her lips were red and when her mouth opened it showed very sharp fangs. On her head were eight long sharp horns sticking out of her hair like a crown.

"I am Arachne, the Weaver of Destruction and my purpose is to…delete you." The woman said as the pupils in her eyes morphed into the Eye of XANA for second before they turned back to normal.

"Well, isn't this the perfect Friday?" Gwen remarked, sarcastically.

As Aelita tried to fly towards the hidden base where the Skid was kept a gust of wind slammed into her and knocked her back, earning a cry of shock from her lips. She managed to stay in the air and right herself before looking up to see what had attacked her. It was a virus in the shape of a vulture with a demonic looking mask covering its face.

"Why am I not surprised?" Aelita frowned.

"I am Ziz, the Master of the Skies and my function is to delete you." The virus proclaimed before diving towards her.

"I don't think so!"

A blast of blue energy slammed into Ziz and sent him spinning through the air.

Bridgette flew up on her surfboard and floated next to Aelita. "You okay?"

"I'll be fine. Thank you." Aelita nodded with a smile.

"No problem. Now hurry and get to the Skid. I'll keep the vulture busy." Bridgette looked at Ziz who managed to straighten himself as he flew back towards them.

However he didn't spot the second surfer smash his board into his face until it was too late. Ziz growled in pain as he was sent spinning again.

"Is this a private party or can anyone join?" Ray asked as he floated down next to Bridgette. "I can't let the fight for best surfer end until one of us wins."

"Okay, but you might not like me when this is over." Bridgette said with a grin. "I tangled with monster waves, big bad monsters and viruses, and I've been through several crashes that would normally delete someone.

"That settles it…you really are my long lost little sister." Ray said with a big grin. "Only someone related to me would go all that."

"Well, it's time for some family bonding time I think." Bridgette remarked as Ziz flew towards them. "He looks mad and it looks he has wind powers so the skies might be a little unsafe for surfing."

"Unsafe you say?" Ray's smile got bigger. "Don't little sis, big brother will show you how to ride the sky."

He shot off towards Ziz who growled and unleashed a gust of wind. Ray crouched down and aimed his board up, missing the wind blast by mere inches as he flew over it. Ziz growled again and shot towards the surfer but Ray jumped up, leaping over Ziz while his board flew underneath the winged virus and landed perfectly on his board as they flew past Ziz.

"Hold still, you accursed sprite!" Ziz growled as he spun and flew after Ray. "If you stay still your deletion may yet be quick and painless!

"Wow. Tough choice." Ray remarked as he flew down towards the city with the virus hot on his heels. "But let's you see you try and take me down in my neighborhood."

"That Ray's got to be crazier than Izzy." Bridgette shook her head and followed after them. "And he might be a bigger show off than Duncan."

"_Hey, he's your big brother._" Cody chuckled.

"Big surfing brother." Bridgette rolled her eyes. "And I've seen enough to know what happens when they have too much fun."

Meanwhile the others were left on the ground, fighting incoming viruses as they tried to overwhelm the rebels with their upgraded powers and abilities. One virus stepped forward and the others fell back, leaving just him facing the Lyoko Warriors. He was dressed in dark blue body armor, black hair, icy blue eyes, black sharp finger nails shaped like claws, and five blue tentacles coming out of his back.

"Ladies and gentlemen, say hello to the viral version of Doc Ock." Noah remarked.

"Lyoko Sprites." The man said with a cold voice. "You are the ones I have been sent to delete."

"Sent to delete us, huh?" Duncan smirked. "So XANA wants to make sure we go with the city. No surprise there."

"Or perhaps he knows that you might not go with the city when it is gone." The virus stared at them all, with a cold smirk.

"He's got the evil vibe on him." Izzy whispered. "That's definitely XANA's handiwork."

"You think you can take us all on? News flash, XANA's generals were probably tougher and they didn't fare much better." Heather pointed out. "No matter how big you think you are."

"I am not a simple two bit virus. You can call me…Scrambler." The virus narrowed his eyes. "And as I said, my function is your deletion."

"A virus hunter huh? Let's see how tough you are." Duncan's sword blazed with green fire.

He swung the sword at Scrambler didn't even flinch when the flames collided with him. He stepped out of the blaze without a single burn on him.

"A mere candle? That is the power you've used to stand against _him_? I'd probably self delete from the shame if I were that weak and delusional." Scrambler remarked.

Duncan grunted and his eyes narrowed at the insult.

"HI-YA!" Izzy aimed her crossbows and fired.

Scrambler didn't bother to dodge, allowing the arrows to hit him and explode. However when the smoke cleared Scrambler was still standing without a scratch on his entire body.

"What the hell is this guy?" Heather asked.

"Cody, you see this?"

"_Yeah and based on the scans I am getting and from the information Tom downloaded into the computer, you're dealing with a Class Five Super Virus with energy absorbing capabilities._" Cody replied.

"Great. Okay, everyone. We can't try and take him out individually. This guy's obviously been sent here to take us on." Noah said.

"Fine." Heather and Courtney nodded.

"Okay!" Izzy smiled.

"Got it." Duncan readied himself.

Meanwhile Bob and Dot found each other and for some reason the viruses stayed clear of them. They knew why, though, even if there was no actual proof. They stayed back because there was only one virus that wanted to delete them. And through the crowd of virus he appeared, pushing them out of his way as he made his way to the pair.

He had on his usual grin while Bob and Dot stared him down with angry determination.

"So, Bob and Dot. Ready for another fight to the death?" Megabyte asked.

"No. This time, we're stopping you for good." Bob held up Glitch as his key tool turned into an energy sword.

"Really? No attempts to turn me into a sprite? No attempts to free me from the programming that makes me evil?" Megabyte asked with an intrigued look.

"No. This has gone on too long, Megabyte. I now know that even as a sprite you'd never change. Hexadecimal may have been a virus but she chose to be good. You, you keep on hurting and destroying everything around you." Bob replied. "No more."

"It ends now." Dot agreed.

"Then you have finally embraced your programming, Guardian." Megabyte said with an impressed look. "I never thought I'd see this second."

With that said he lunged at both of them with his claws ready to slice them to bits. Bob and Dot jumped out of the way and Megabyte went after Bob. The Guardian stepped back, dodging Megabyte's slashes and used Glitch as a shield, easily blocking Megabyte's blows. Sparks flew into the air as Megabyte's claws and the energy sword made by Glitch collided with each other.

Bob knew Megabyte was stronger and faster but Bob was no weakling either. His training as a Guardian and his hours of fighting had allowed him to make a stand as the two fighters fought with a ferocity that was almost never seen before.

This was not just a battle that would determine whether or not Mainframe survive.

It was more than that.

It was personal.

And this time only one side would walk away when it was over.


End file.
